UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 


DEAN  GEORGE   BERKELEY 

1684-1753 
BY  JOHN  SMIBERT 

From  the  collection  of  The  Worcester  Art  Museum 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF 

THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

IN    THE    UNITED    STATES 
BY    WILLIAM    DUNLAP 

Vice-President  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design 

Author  of  the  History  of  the  American  Theatre 

Biography  of  G.  F.  Cooke,  etc. 


A  NEW  EDITION,  ILLUSTRATED 

Edited,  with  additions  by 
FRANK  W.  BAYLEY  AND  CHARLES  E.  GOODSPEED 


IN    THREE    VOLUMES 

VOLUME  ONE 


BOSTON 

C.  E.  GOODSPEED  &  CO. 

1918 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BT 
C.  E.  G GODSPEED  &  COMPANY 


N 
(,505 

) 

v,  I 


EDITORS'   PREFACE 

The  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  by  William  Dunlap,  was  published  in  1834  and  has 
ever  since  served  as  a  primary  source  of  information  for  the 
student  of  early  American  art.  "As  the  work  of  Vertue,  the 
historian  of  the  arts  in  England,"  says  Dunlap,  "has  been 
made  perfect  by  Walpole  and  Dallaway,  so  we  may  hope  that 
in  process  of  time,  this  work  will  have  additions  made  to  it  by 
those  who  may  discover  more  than  has  been  yielded  to  our 
researches. "  Dunlap's  opportunity  for  gathering  facts  regard- 
ing the  artists  who  had  preceded  him  was  limited,  and  his  own 
judgment  in  many  instances  was  biased  by  the  professional 
opinions  and  personal  envy  of  others.  He  did,  however,  have 
as  contemporaries  many  men  who  stood  high  in  their  pro- 
fession: West,  Copley,  Stuart,  Trumbull,  Peale,  Fulton,  Sully, 
Morse,  Harding,  and  Allston.  These  not  only  gave  particulars 
of  their  own  careers  but  in  some  instances  contributed  much 
that  was  valuable  about  those  of  others.  Necessarily,  he  relied 
upon  sources  of  this  character. 

The  peculiar  nature  of  Dunlap's  work — its  faulty  compo- 
sition, irregular  orthography,  duplications,  irrelevancies  and 
prolixity — have  made  the  editors'  office  a  difficult  one.  Two 
courses  seemed  open:  the  first,  to  reprint  the  work  verbatim  et 
literatim  as  a  historical  document;  the  second,  to  give  the 
text  essentially  as  originally  printed,  but  with  judicious  prun- 
ing and  corrections  of  conspicuous  errors.  We  have  chosen 
the  latter  course  as  more  consistent  with  our  plan  of  making 
the  book  useful  for  reference  to  the  present-day  student.  To 
further  this  plan  we  have  compiled  addenda  comprising  brief 
accounts  of  several  hundred  painters,  engravers,  sculptors,  and 
architects.  This  includes  all  of  those  working  before  1835 
that  have  come  to  our  attention,  though  no  effort  has  been 

v 


485967 

LIBRARY 


vi  EDITORS'  PREFACE 

made  to  discover  information  concerning  artists  of  purely  local 
reputation.  Our  additions  in  correction  or  elucidation  of  the 
text  have  taken  the  form  of  footnotes,  which  are  distinguished 
from  the  original  notes  by  a  numerical  sign  instead  of  dagger 
and  asterisk.  A  bibliography  of  the  subject  has  also  been 
added. 

If  the  reader  of  the  first  edition  should  in  this  one  miss  some 
passages,  including  a  few  extraneous  anecdotes  of  Stuart  and 
Jarvis,  verses  by  Allston,  a  technical  treatise  on  miniature 
painting  by  Cummmgs,  and  various  notes  of  small  value  or 
ephemeral  interest,  we  trust  he  will  find  the  new  matter,  far 
exceeding  these  omissions  in  importance,  a  sufficient  com- 
pensation. 

It  is  particularly  true  of  art  criticism  that  the  judgment  of 
a  contemporary  is  not  likely  to  be  a  safe  guide.  Each  artist  has 
his  own  standard,  be  it  high  or  low,  and  his  opinions  follow 
this  standard.  The  passage  of  time  lends  the  required  per- 
spective so  that  the  editors  have  been  able  to  suggest  by  com- 
ment and  illustration  how  Dunlap  misjudged  the  merits  of 
some  of  his  predecessors  and  contemporaries.  Nevertheless, 
the  pioneer  in  a  work  of  this  character  deserves  the  fullest 
credit  for  his  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  subject  and 
although  time  has  proved  much  that  Dunlap  wrote  to  be  in- 
correct both  in  fact  and  conclusion  the  substance  of  his  work 
still  retains  its  value. 

For  assistance  in  our  research  to  correct,  explain  or  amplify 
the  original  text  we  are  under  obligations  to  fellow-workers 
who  have  generously  co-operated  and  to  whom  we  return 
thanks,  particularly  to  Charles  Henry  Hart,  John  H.  Edmonds, 
Daniel  Edwards  Kennedy,  Robert  Fridenberg,  T.  Hovey 
Gage,  Horace  Welles  Sellers,  Mantle  Fielding,  Walter  K.  Wat- 
kins,  Ernest  Spofford,  Lawrence  Park,  L.  Earle  Rowe,  Clarence 
S.  Brigham,  Frank  Bulkeley  Smith,  Charles  K.  Bolton,  C.  H. 
Taylor,  Jr.,  Julius  H.  Tuttle,  Miss  Lucy  D.  Tuckerman  and 
Miss  Ellen  M.  Burrill. 

We  also  wish  to  acknowledge  our  obligations  to  the  many 
art  museums,  historical  societies,  private  owners  and  dealers 


EDITORS'  PREFACE  vii 

who  have  generously  granted  us  permission  to  reproduce  their 
pictures.  Finally,  although  of  secondary  interest  in  this  work, 
we  must  recognize  our  dependence  for  data  regarding  engravers 
on  David  McNeely  Stauffer's  "American  Engravers  on  Copper 
and  Steel"  and  on  the  supplementary  volume  recently  com- 
piled by  Mantle  Fielding. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I 

Page 

Editors'  Preface v 

CHAPTER  I 
Introductory  —  John  Watson  .....  1 

CHAPTER  II 

John  Smibert  —  Nathaniel  Smibert  —  Blackburn  —  Williams 

—  R.  Feke  —  Green  —  Theus      .  17 

CHAPTER  III 
Benjamin  West 32 

CHAPTER  IV 
Benjamin  West  (Continued)         .         .          .          .          .          .         56 

CHAPTER  V 
Benjamin  West  (Concluded)        .         .         .         .         .         .         94 

CHAPTER  VI 
Duffield  —  Claypoole  —  Pratt  —  Copley  —  Taylor  —  Cain     .       110 

CHAPTER  VII 

Hesselius  —  Frazier  —  Mrs.  Wright.  —  Charles  Willson  Peale 

—  Winstanley  —  Benbridge  —  Alexander  —  Woolaston 

—  Manly  —  Smith  —  Durand   .....       150 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Engraving         .........       170 

CHAPTER  IX 

The  Three  Parissiens  —  Kilbrunn  —  Delanoy  —  Stuart  .       190 

ix 


x  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I 

CHAPTER  X  Pagt 

Stuart  (Continued) .218 

CHAPTER  XI 
Stuart  (Concluded)  —  Earl  —  Campbell        .          .  .       229 

CHAPTER  XII 

History  of  Miniature  Painting  —  Ramage  —  James  Peale  — 

Brown  —  Duche —  Fulton  —  Coram    ....       265 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Autobiography  of  the  Author,  William  Dunlap     .         .         .       288 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Autobiography  —  Continued        .          .          .  .         .311 

CHAPTER  XV 
Autobiography  —  Concluded        ......       344 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Joseph  Wright — Rush  —  Pine  —  Savage  —  James  Trenchard 

—  Houdon  —  Malcom  —  Dixey     .....       370 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  I 

Dean  George  Berkeley Frontispiece 

From  a  painting  by  John  Smibert 

Page 

John  Watson    .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .6 

From  a  painting  by  an  unknown  artist 

WiDiam  Keith  .  1* 

From  a  painting  by  John  Watson 

John  Lovell       .........         22 

From  a  painting  by  Nathaniel  Smibert 

General  Joseph  Dwight      .          .          .          .          .          .          .         24 

From  a  painting  by  Blackburn 

Mrs.  James  Pitts        ........         26 

From  a  painting  by  Blackburn 

Robert  Feke 28 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Mrs.  Gershom  Flagg  .  .....         SO 

From  a  painting  by  Robert  Feke 

James  Bowdoin          .  ....         32 

From  a  painting  by  Robert  Feke 

Mrs.  James  Bowdoin  .......         34 

From  a  painting  by  Robert  Feke 

George  Washington   .          .  ....         36 

From  a  painting  by  William  Williams 

Mrs.  Catherine  Van  Vporhees  Van  Beuren   .          .  .         38 

From  a  painting  by  Jeremiah  Theus 

Benjamin  West          ....  ...         42 

From  a  painting  by  Matthew  Pratt 

Thomas  Mifflin  .  .         48 

From  a  painting  by  Benjamin  West 

Mrs.  Benjamin  West  .......         56 

From  a  painting  by  Matthew  Pratt 
xi 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  I 


John  J.  Sedley  ......  88 

From  a  painting  by  Benjamin  West 

Death  on  the  Pale  Horse    ...  96 

From  a  painting  by  Benjamin  West 

James  Claypoole        ......  108 

From  a  painting  by  an  unknown  artist 

Matthew  Pratt  .  .  .110 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

The  American  School          .          .          .          .          .          .          .112 

From  a  painting  by  Matthew  Pratt 

John  Singleton  Copley        .          .          .          .          .  .116 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Rev.  Myles  Cooper    .          .          .          .          .          .          .  118 

From  a  painting  by  John  Singleton  Copley 

Gustavus  Hesselius    .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .150 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Mrs.  Gustavus  Hesselius    .......        152 

From  a  painting  by  Gustavus  Hesselius 

Mrs.  Patience  Wright         .          .          .          .          .          .          .154 

From  a  drawing  by  an  unknown  artist 

George  Washington  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .156 

From  a  portrait  in  wax  by  Patience  Wright 

Charles  Wrillson  Peale         .......       158 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Charles  Willson  Peale  (In  his  Museum)        .          .          .          .160 
From  a  painting  by  himself 

Rev.  Joseph  Pilmore  ...  ...       162 

From  an  engraving  by  Charles  Willson  Peale  after 
his  own  painting 

Henry  Benbridge       .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .164 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

John  Parke  and  Martha  Custis  .          .          .          .          .168 

From  a  painting  by  John  Wollaston 

Nathaniel  Kurd  ......       172 

From  a  painting  by  John  Singleton  Copley 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  I  xiii 

Page 

Paul  Revere      ....  ....       174 

From  a  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  engraved  by  S. 
A.  Schoff 

H-ds-n's  Speech  from  the  Pillory 176 

From  an  engraving  by  Nathaniel  Kurd 

A  Warm  Place  — Hell        .  180 

From  an  engraving  by  Paul  Revere 

A  View  of  the  Town  of  Concord 182 

From  a  drawing  by  Ralph  Earl,  engraved  by  Amos 
Doolittle 

The  Rev.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  D.D.      .          .          .          .          .184 

From  a  portrait  painted  and  engraved  by  Richard 
Jennys,  Jr. 

Gilbert  Stuart :          ...       192 

From  a  painting  by  hjmself 

James  Ward      ...  198 

From  a  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 

Matilda  Caroline  Cruger    .  248 

From  a  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 

Ralph  Earl 260 

From  a  drawing  by  an  unknown  artist 

Abigail  Burr     ...  262 

From  a  painting  by  Ralph  Earl 

James  Peale .       266 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Mather  Brown 270 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Thomas  Dawson,  Viscount  Cremorne  ....       272 

From  a  painting  by  Mather  Brown 

Thomas  Spence  Duche       .          .          .          .          .          .          .       274 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

Rev.  Jacob  Duche  and  Wife 276 

From  a  painting  by  Thomas  Spence  Duche 

Robert  Fulton  ....  ....       278 

From  a  painting  by  Charles  Willson  Peale 

Robert  Fulton 282 

From  a  painting  by  himself 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  I 

Page 

William  Dunlap 288 

From  a  lithograph  by  an  unknown  artist 

Mrs.  Thomas  A.  Cooper     .  ...       296 

From  a  painting  by  William  Dunlap 

Robert  Snow    .         .   '      .  .  '.344 

From  a  painting  by  William  Dunlap 

Joseph  Wright  and  Family          .          .          .          .          .          .  '    370 

From  a  painting  by  Joseph  Wright 

Benjamin  Franklin 372 

From  a  painting  by  Joseph  Wright 

William  Rush   ....  ...       374 

From  a  lithograph  by  Max  Rosenthal 

Congress  Voting  Independence   ......       376 

From  an  unfinished  engraving  by  Edward  Savage, 
after  a  painting  by  Robert  Edge  Pine  and  Edward 
Savage 

Edward  Savage          .          .  380 

From  a  painting  by  himself 

The  Washington  Family 382 

From  a  painting  by  Edward  Savage,  engraved  by 
himself 

David  Rittenhouse    ....  ...       384 

From  a  painting  by  Charles  Willson  Peale,  en- 
graved by  Edward  Savage 

John  Paul  Jones .386 

From  a  bust  portrait  by  Jean  Antoine  Houdon 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  RISE  AND  PROGRESS 

OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN  IN  THE 

UNITED  STATES 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY.    JOHN  WATSON. 

THE  author  calls  this  work  a  history,  without  presuming  to 
place  himself  in  the  rank  of  professed  historians.  His  history 
shall  be  given  by  a  chain  of  biographical  notices,  with  all  the 
discursiveness  and  license  of  biography;  but,  in  the  first  place, 
he  solicits  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  some  general  remarks 
on  the  subjects  of  which  he  treats,  —  the  arts  of  design  and 
their  professors. 

The  fine  arts  are  all  of  one  family;  but  it  is  only  a  part  of 
this  family  that  falls  within  our  limits.  "The  Arts  of  Design" 
form  of  themselves  a  field  sufficiently  wide  for  us  to  travel  over, 
nay,  too  wide,  and  it  will  be  found  that  we  shall,  from  neces- 
sity, neglect  much  that  would  come  with  propriety  under  the 
title.  Sculpture,  Painting,  Engraving,  Architecture,  and  their 
professors,  will  occupy  us  almost  exclusively;  and  the  second  in 
the  order  above  given  must  fill  the  greater  number  of  our  pages. 

Poetry,  as  we  are  told,  excites  images  and  sensations  through 
the  medium  of  successive  action,  communicated  by  sounds  and 
time.  The  same  may  be  said  of  music;  but  painting  and  her 
sister  arts  of  design  rely  upon  form  displayed  in  space. 

Design,  in  its  broadest  signification,  is  the  plan  of  the  whole, 
whether  applied  to  building,  modelling,  painting,  engraving, 
or  landscape  gardening;  in  its  limited  sense  it  denotes  merely 
drawing;  the  art  of  representing  form.  Man  has  fully  con- 
vinced himself  that  the  human  is  the  most  perfect  of  all  forms, 
and  has  found  that  its  representation  is  the  most  difficult 
achievement  of  design.  The  sculptors  of  ancient  Greece 
alone  attained  the  knowledge  of  this  form  in  its  perfection,  and 

1 


2  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  power  to  represent  it.  Happily  for  us  their  works  were 
executed  in  such  materials  as  have  defied  time,  the  elements, 
and  even  ignorance,  more  destructive  than  either:  happily 
the  architecture  and  sculpture  of  Greece  have  come  down  to 
us,  for  we  have  no  standard  of  beauty,  but  that  which  is 
derived  from  the  country  of  Homer  and  Phidias.  The  sculp- 
tors and  architects  of  Greece  are  our  teachers  to  this  day,  in 
form;  and  he  most  excels  who  most  assiduously  studies  the 
models  they  have  left  us.  This  seems  to  contradict  the  precept 
that  bids  the  artist  study  nature  alone.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  we  speak  only  of  that  form,  the  perfection  of  which 
the  ancients  saw  in  nature,  and  embodied  in  their  religion. 
That  natural  perfection  which  they  saw  under  their  bright 
skies,  at  the  games  instituted  in  honor  of  their  gods,  they 
combined  in  the  statues  of  those  gods;  diversified  according 
to  their  several  attributes.  The  contemplation  of  these  attri- 
butes added  action  and  expression  to  individual  form.  This 
appears  to  be  the  source  from  which  the  wonders  of  Praxiteles 
and  Phidias  sprung  —  the  Jupiter,  the  Minerva,  the  Hercules, 
the  Venus,  the  Apollo.  The  contemplation  of  these  forms 
led  to  the  improvement  of  Egyptian  architecture  by  the  Greek 
colonists  of  Asia  Minor.  Schlegel  has  said,  that  by  contemplat- 
ing the  Belvidere  Apollo,  we  learn  to  appreciate  the  tragedies 
of  Sophocles.  Such  is  the  alliance  of  poetry  and  the  arts  of 
design. 

The  arts  of  design  are  usually  considered  as  commentators 
upon  history  and  poetry.  Truly  they  are  the  most  impressive 
of  all  commentators.  But  to  consider  them  only  as  such,  is  to 
degrade  them.  To  invent,  belongs  to  the  artist  as  well  as  to 
the  poet;  and  a  Sophocles  may  catch  inspiration  from  a  Phid- 
ias, as  an  Apelles  may  be  inspired  by  an  Euripides.  The  poet 
is  never  more  a  poet  than  when  describing  the  works  of  art, 
and  the  poetic  artist  delights  to  seize  the  evanescent  forms  of 
the  poet,  to  fix  them  immovably  in  motion  —  palpable  —  in 
all  their  beauty  brought  before  the  physical  eye;  but  it  is  no 
less  his  to  invent  the  fable  than  to  illustrate  it. 

The  progress  of  the  arts  of  design  is  from  those  that  are 


PRIMITIVE  ARCHITECTURE  3 

necessary  to  those  that  delight,  ennoble,  refine.  Man  first  seeks 
shelter  from  the  elements,  and  defence  from  savages  of  his  own, 
or  the  brute  kind.  In  his  progress  to  that  perfection  destined 
for  him,  by  his  bountiful  Creator,  he  feels  the  necessity  of  re- 
finement and  beauty.  In  this  progress  architecture  is  first  in 
order,  sculpture  second,  painting  third,  and  engraving  follows 
to  perpetuate  by  diffusing  the  forms  invented  by  her  sisters. 

The  mechanic  arts  have  accompanied  and  assisted  the  fine 
arts  in  every  step  of  then*  progress.  To  the  sciences  they  have 
been  indispensable  handmaids.  In  all  the  ameliorations  of 
man's  earthly  sojourn,  the  mechanic  and  fine  arts  have  gone 
hand  in  hand.  The  painter,  the  sculptor,  the  engraver,  and 
the  architect,  will  all  acknowledge  their  obligations  to  the 
mechanic  arts,  and  the  mechanic  will  be  pleased  by  the  con- 
sciousness that  he  has  aided  the  arts  of  design  in  arriving  at 
their  present  state  of  perfection. 

Of  the  four  arts  of  design,  to  which  our  attention  is  directed, 
architecture  alone  is  the  offspring  of  necessity;  but  before  it 
became  one  of  the  fine  arts,  sculpture,  and  perhaps,  painting, 
had  existence.  The  first  effort  of  man,  in  the  imitative  arts, 
is  probably  to  model  in  clay,  the  second  to  cut  in  wood,  and 
then  in  ivory  or  stone.  The  rude  efforts  of  the  aborigines  of 
our  country  may  be  adduced  to  prove  this.  We  find  speci- 
mens of  their  modelling  in  baked  clay,  the  terra  cotta  of  Italy, 
and  sculptured  figures  in  wood  and  stone;  but  no  attempt  to 
represent  round  objects  on  a  flat  surface  by  lights  and  shadows. 
The  late  travellers,  who  have  penetrated  the  terra  incognita  of 
Africa,  tell  us  of  figures  sculptured  as  ornaments  to  the  rude 
architecture  of  the  negroes,  but  they  saw  no  painting. 

In  that  extremely  interesting  portion  of  the  globe,  Polynesia, 
we  find  sculpture  existing  in  the  rude  forms  of  their  idols,  the 
elegant  ornaments  of  naval  architecture,  and  on  the  weapons  of 
destruction;  but  no  attempt  at  drawing,  unless  tattooing 
figures  by  lines  and  dots  on  their  own  bodies  —  engraving  in 
flesh  —  may  be  so  called.  The  graphic  art  was  unknown,  as 
much  in  its  connection  with  pictorial  form,  as  it  was  in  that 
more  common  and  still  more  precious  form  to  mankind — letters. 


4  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

In  Central  America,  near  the  village  of  Palenque,  ruins  and 
monuments  are  found,  proving,  as  is  supposed,  the  existence 
of  a  nation  or  people  in  a  remote  age,  far  surpassing  in  civili- 
zation the  Mexicans  or  Peruvians,  when  visited  by  the  Span- 
iards. Statues,  and  works  in  high  and  low  relief,  ornamented 
their  buildings  —  but  no  paintings.  The  pictures  formed  by 
feathers,  or  otherwise,  which  were  found  among  the  Mexicans, 
at  the  time  when  treachery,  bigotry,  murder,  and  rapine  put  a 
stop  to  their  progress  towards  civilization,  were  not  designs 
representing  the  round  on  the  flat,  but  a  species  of  hieroglyphic 
writing;  undoubtedly  having  a  near  affinity  to  the  graphic 
art,  and  approaching  it  in  the  same  degree  that  the  people  ap- 
proached the  blessings  of  civilized  life.  It  was  not  drawing  or 
writing,  but  was  leading  to  both.  At  what  period  the  nations 
of  the  East  attempted  painting,  we  know  not,  but  doubtless 
they  carved  their  idols,  and  daubed  them  with  colors,  before 
they  made  any  pictorial  representations  of  the  monsters.  To 
this  moment  they  neither  invent  nor  imitate  anything  in  paint- 
ing. They  copy.  There  is  nothing  in  which  their  barbarism 
is  more  apparent  than  in  the  deficiency  of  the  arts  of  design. 
If  the  progress  of  the  arts  was  from  Egypt  to  India,  and  thence 
to  Greece,  they,  on  their  arrival  at  the  latter  country,  were  a 
chaos  without  form  and  void.  It  required  a  more  perfect  state 
of  the  human  mind  to  extract  form  from  the  chaotic  mass. 
The  Grecian  sculptors  discovered  form,  and  perfected  the 
mode  of  representing  historical  events  by  high  and  low  relief; 
their  painters  followed;  and  although  they  arrived  at  the  per- 
fection of  form,  as  well  as  then*  masters,  we  believe  that  they 
never  went  much  beyond  them  in  that  which,  in  modern  times, 
is  the  glory  of  the  arts  of  design  —  composition.  They  told 
their  stories  as  their  masters  had  done,  by  a  line  of  figures. 
The  Greeks  taught  us  beauty  and  expression;  modern  art 
has  added  color,  chiaroscuro,  perspective,  composition  — 
all  by  which  distance,  space,  air,  light,  color,  transparency, 
solidity  —  may  be  brought  before  the  eye  on  a  flat  surface. 
The  painter  knows  no  limits  but  time  and  place,  and  even  the 
last  has  been  burst  by  Raphael  and  by  Tintoret;  but  it  is  only 


HISTORIANS  OF  ART  5 

the  author  of  the  "  Transfiguration,"  and  the  "  Adoration  of 
the  Golden  Calf,"  or  men  like  them,  that  may  break  through 
the  limit  of  locality. 

Of  the  many  elements  of  art  and  science,  which  must  com- 
bine to  produce  these  almost  miraculous  effects,  it  is  not  our 
immediate  province  to  speak;  neither  to  give  the  history  of 
the  progress  of  painting  and  her  sister  arts  in  Europe.  The 
writers  before  the  public  are  many  and  good.  We  will  men- 
tion a  few,  as  the  names  are  suggested  to  memory — Vasari, 
De  Piles,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Albert  Durer,  Du  Fresnoy  (with 
notes  by  Reynolds),  Winkleman,  Mengs,  Reynolds,  Opie, 
Fuseli,  Pilkington's  Dictionary  (with  additions  by  Fuseli, 
who  has,  in  all  his  works,  immense  learning  on  the  subjects  of 
which  he  treats,  though  sometimes  displayed  rather  than  used), 
and  we  must  not  forget  Shee  and  Burnet.  The  remarks  of  Sir 
Martin  Archer  Shee,  touching  the  writings  and  writers  on  the 
subject  of  the  arts,  appear  to  us  so  just  and  so  essential  to  the 
correction  of  error  and  prejudice,  that  we  insert  them,  not- 
withstanding that  there  may  be  an  appearance  of  assumption 
in  so  doing.  They  are  addressed  to  the  students  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  England. 

"There  is,  perhaps,  no  subject  so  unmanageable  as  that  of 
the  arts,  in  the  hands  of  those  who  bring  to  its  discussion  only 
the  superficial  acquirements  of  amateur  taste  and  mere  literary 
talent.  As  it  is  an  alluring  theme,  however,  to  all  who  are 
disposed  to  wander  in  the  regions  of  virtu,  more  flimsy  and 
unsubstantial  speculation  has  been  hazarded  on  topics  con- 
nected with  the  fine  arts,  than  is  found  to  encumber  the  path  of 
the  student  in  any  other  profession.  The  tracts  of  science,  of 
law,  and  of  physic,  are  too  rough  and  thorny  to  be  frequented 
by  those  who  would  traverse  them  as  an  amusement,  rather 
than  as  an  occupation:  but  the  flowery  domains  of  taste  invite 
the  approach  of  the  idlest  loungers  of  literature;  they  are 
considered  as  common  ground,  where  all  may  claim  free 
manor,  and  range  at  large,  without  any  apprehension  of  ex- 
posure or  punishment,  either  as  pretenders  or  trespassers. 
The  fine  arts  appear  to  be  the  only  pursuit  in  which  the  au- 


6  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

thority  of  the  professor  is  undervalued  by  those  who  derive  all 
their  knowledge  from  his  works.  But  you  must  not  allow 
yourselves,  gentlemen,  to  be  influenced  by  prejudices  of  this 
kind.  To  the  writings  of  artists  alone  can  you  look  with  any 
confident  hope  of  obtaining  valuable  instruction  or  useful 
knowledge  in  your  profession." 

In  our  mode  of  giving  the  history  of  the  progress  of  art  in 
this  country,  principally  by  a  chronological  series  of  biograph- 
ical notices,  we  shall  undoubtedly  speak  of  men  who  in  no 
wise  aided  that  progress;  but,  we  hope,  by  giving  as  complete 
a  view  of  the  subject  as  can  now  be  obtained,  to  place  in  the 
hands  of  the  future  historian,  many  valuable  facts,  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  lost;  and  to  leave  information  respecting 
those  professors  of  the  arts  who  have  failed,  as  well  as  those 
who  have  attained  to  honorable  distinction  —  information 
which  may  guide  the  present  and  future  student  on  his  way  to 
the  wished-for  goal. 

Horace  Walpole  gives,  as  the  reason  for  calling  his  work 
"Anecdotes  of  Painting  in  England,"  instead  of  the  "Lives 
of  English  Painters,"  that  the  greatest  men  England  could 
boast,  as  professors  of  the  art  in  that  country,  were  foreigners. 
Not  so  with  us.  In  the  commencement  of  our  history  as  colo- 
nies, every  painter  was  from  beyond  sea;  but  no  sooner  did 
native  artists  appear  than  their  works  exceeded  in  value  im- 
measurably, the  visitors  who  had  preceded  them.  Although 
this  is  strictly  true  in  regard  to  our  painters,  it  will  not  yet 
fully  apply  to  the  professors  of  all  the  sister  arts.  We  are 
happy  to  record  foreign  artists  in  our  work,  and  acknowledge 
their  influence  on  the  progress  of  the  arts;  but  while  England 
claims  our  artists  as  her  own,  because  thrown  on  her  shores, 
or  invited  by  her  liberality,  we  are  content  to  call  those  only 
American,  exclusively,  who  were  born  or  educated  as  artists 
within  our  boundaries. 

It  is  matter  of  surprise  to  many,  that  the  land  of  our  fore- 
fathers should  have  been  behind  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world 
in  the  conveniences  and  decorations  which  attend  the  expan- 
sion of  mind  and  the  progress  of  science.  It  will  be  explained 


JOHN  WATSON 


ART  LIGHTLY  ESTEEMED  7 

by  the  consideration,  that,  although  of  late  the  freest  and  best 
governed  country  in  Europe,  and  brilliant  with  art  and  science, 
it  was  the  seat  of  barbarism  with  episcopal  and  military  aris- 
tocracy to  a  later  period  than  those  lands  which  have  since 
fallen  behind  her  in  the  march  towards  perfection.  While  the 
artist  was  honored  on  the  continent,  he  was  in  the  island  of 
Great  Britain  considered  as  an  appendage  to  my  lord's  tailor. 

The  curious  may  see  in  Walpole's  "  Anecdotes  of  Painting  in 
England,"  that  my  lord  of  Warwick  in  Henry  VI's  time  "con- 
tracted with  his  tailor  for  the  painter's  work  that  was  to  be 
displayed"  on  his  clothing,  and  the  pageantry  thought  neces- 
sary, at  that  period,  when  going  abroad.  Walpole  says,  "the 
art  was  engrossed  by,  and  confined  to,  the  vanity  or  devotion 
of  the  nobility.  The  arms  they  bore  and  quartered,  their  mis- 
sals, their  church  windows,  and  the  images  of  their  idols  were 
the  only  circumstances  in  which  they  had  any  employment  for 
a  painter."  The  more  esteemed  painters  were  called  limners, 
and  were  those  who  limned  or  illuminated  missals,  books  or 
manuscripts,  with  miniatures;  that  is,  small  pictures  done  in 
minium  or  red  lead,  from  which  the  word  now  appropriated 
principally  to  small  pictures  on  ivory,  is  derived.  Such  was 
the  state  of  painting  in  the  land  of  our  fathers  —  when  Raphael 
flourished  in  Italy. 

It  will  hardly  be  credited  in  times  to  come  —  nay,  it  can 
hardly  be  credited  now  —  only  that  we  have  English  books  of 
high  authority  to  bear  us  out  in  the  assertion,  that  in  the 
eighteenth  century  the  fine  arts,  and  their  professors,  depended 
in  that  country  upon  patrons  and  patronage  for  subsistence 
—  that  the  descendants  of  the  military  robbers  who  conquered 
the  land;  or  the  minions,  mistresses,  or  spurious  offspring  of 
their  kings,  revelling  in  the  hereditary  spoils  of  the  people, 
should  be  sought  and  acknowledged  as  the  necessary  pro- 
tectors of  those  whose  knowledge  or  skill  is  now  the  boast  of 
England.  We  will  give  a  few  extracts,  or  our  readers,  who 
are  not  conversant  with  the  subject,  may  not  believe  what 
appears  so  monstrous. 

A  noble  author,  speaking  of  an  artist  who  died  so  late  as 


8  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

1756,  after  Benjamin  West  began  his  career  by  painting  por- 
traits in  this  country,  Walpole,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  work, 
published  in  the  nineteenth  century,  gives  this  character  of 
Vertue,1  an  eminent  artist  and  exemplary  man.  Speaking  of 
his  modesty,  he  says,  "the  highest  praise  he  ventured  to 
assume  is  founded  on  his  industry"  "if  vanity  had  entered 
into  his  composition,  he  might  have  boasted  the  antiquity  of 
his  race."  By  that  industry  which  was  never  intermitted,  he 
solaced  the  age  of  his  parents;  and,  at  his  father's  death,  was 
the  support  oi  his  widowed  mother  and  many  children.  When 
not  occupied  by  his  professional  labors,  he  practised  music, 
and  acquired  foreign  languages.  His  works  were  admired 
and  sought  after.  "Many  persons,"  says  Walpole,  "were  de- 
sirous of  having  a  complete  collection."  He  gratified  them  by 
making  up  sets,  which,  after  his  death,  sold  for  more  than 
double  the  price  he  received  for  them.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
members  of  the  first  Academy  of  Painting  known  in  his  coun- 
try. He  was  a  learned  antiquary.  He  was  indefatigable  in 
his  researches  after  that  knowledge  which  enabled  him  to 
compose  his  great  work  —  "the  History  of  the  Arts  in  Eng- 
land." "His  scrupulous  veracity"  is  eulogized  justly.  "His 
merit  and  modesty  still  raised  him  friends."  "He  lost  his 
friends  (by  death),  but  his  piety,  mildness,  and  ingenuity 
never  forsook  him."  "He  died  July  24th,  1756,  and  was  buried 
in  the  cloisters  of  Westminster  Abbey," 

"  With  manners  gentle,  and  a  grateful  heart, 
And  all  the  genius  of  the  graphic  art, 
His  fame  shall  each  succeeding  artist  own, 
Longer  by  far  than  monuments  of  stone." 

This  man  so  gifted,  so  pure,  whose  company  and  conversa- 
tion conferred  instruction  on  the  wise,  and  honor  on  the  dig- 
nified, is  spoken  of  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
by  Walpole,  who  acknowledged  his  virtues  and  admired  his 
talents,  in  terms,  when  his  name  is  connected  with  the  rich 

1  George  Vertue,  born  in  London  in  1684,  was  one  of  the  foremost  engravers  of  his 
time  from  an  historical  standpoint  and  his  antiquarian  researches  and  writings  were  of 
the  highest  importance.  His  collection  of  notes  formed  the  basis  for  the  "Anecdotes 
of  Painting  in  England"  by  Horace  Walpole. 


ART  PATRONAGE  9 

and  titled,  that  would  in  this  country,  at  this  time,  be  thought 
degrading  to  any  —  the  lowest  and  most  ignorant  member  of 
our  happy  republican  society.  The  earl  of  Oxford  saw  the 
merits  of  the  artist,  purchased  his  works,  and  gave  them  their 
due  praise.  This  is  called  the  "bounty  of  the  patron."  "An- 
other patron  was  the  earl  of  Winchelsea."  How  did  he  pro- 
tect him,  and  from  whom  or  what?  The  artist  "painted  and 
engraved"  his  picture.  He  gratified  the  earl's  wishes,  per- 
haps his  vanity,  and  rescued  his  effigies  from  oblivion.  Thus 
the  artist  conferred  the  favor,  but  the  lord  is  called  and 
acknowledged  as  the  protector  of  the  man  whose  knowledge 
and  skill  he  sought,  for  his  own  gratification  and  improve- 
ment. "Lord  Coleraine,"  says  Walpole,  "is  enumerated  by 
Vertue,  among  his  protectors."  He  is  represented  as  travel- 
ling with  Lord  Oxford  —  as  making  the  journeys  he  took  with 
him  and  others,  "more  delightful,  by  explaining,  taking 
draughts,  and  keeping  a  register  of  what  they  saw";  and  then, 
drawing  up  "an  account  of  this  progress  and  presenting  it  to 
his  patron."  He  is  represented  as  "humble  before  his  superi- 
ors." Who  were  they?  The  men  who  possessed  castles  and 
palaces,  and  looked  to  him  for  an  explanation  of  the  treasures 
their  libraries,  cabinets,  and  galleries  con  tamed.  The  earl  of 
Oxford  died.  He  and  the  artist  had  been  friends;  and  the 
artist,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  felt  that  the  earl 
was  his  superior,  and  lamented  the  loss  as  if  he  had  been  left 
without  "support,  cherisher,"  or  "comfort."  "He  was  a 
little  revived,"  says  Walpole,  "by  acquiring  the  honor  of 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  notice."  "The  Duke  of  Richmond  and 
Lord  Burlington  did  not  forget  him  among  the  artists  they 
patronized."  But  in  1749  he  found  a  yet  more  exalted  pro- 
tector. "The  prince  of  Wales  sent  for  him,  and  finding  him 
capable  of  the  task  of  explaining  to  his  ignorance,  the  his- 
tory of  those  treasures  of  art  his  hereditary  fortune  had  put  in 
his  possession;  and  of  pointing  out  the  mode  of  making  his 
collection  more  valuable"  -What  followed?  "The  artist," 
says  Walpole,  "often  had  the  honor  of  attending  the  prince; 
was  shown  his  pictures  by  himself,  and  accompanied  him  to 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  royal  palaces."  And  he  had  the  further  honor  of  being 
"employed"  by  his  protector,  "in  collecting  prints  for  him, 
and  taking  catalogues,  and  sold  him  many  of  his  own  minia- 
tures and  prints." 

Such  was  the  manner  of  thinking  and  speaking  in  Great 
Britain  in  the  eighteenth  century.  There  are  individuals 
in  America  who,  without  due  reflection,  or,  from  residing  too 
long  in  England,  or,  perhaps,  being  foreigners,  and  not  under- 
standing the  nature  of  our  institutions,  and  the  manner  of 
thinking  which  those  institutions  induce,  sometimes  talk  of 
patronage  and  protection;  but  from  the  very  first  settlement 
of  this  country,  the  germs  of  republican  equality  were  planted 
in  our  soil;  they  grew  with  the  growth  of  the  colonies,  and 
were  nursed  into  maturity  by  the  blood  of  our  fathers.  The 
laws  are  here  the  only  protectors.  Industry,  virtue,  and 
talents,  the  only  patrons.  The  ignorant,  the  afflicted,  the 
weak,  the  unfortunate  may  want  aid,  instruction,  protection, 
from  the  strong,  and  the  rich,  and  the  wise;  but  the  artist  — 
the  man  who  possesses  the  genius,  skill,  and  knowledge  which 
entitles  him  to  that  name  —  will  look  to  be  honored  and  es- 
teemed by  his  fellow-citizens;  not  seeking  protection, 
from  them;  or  acknowledging  superiority,  except  in  superior 
worth. 

Happy !  thrice  happy  country !  where  the  lord,  the  prince,  or 
the  king,  on  touching  your  shores,  becomes  a  man,  if  he 
possesses  the  requisites  for  one :  or,  if  not,  falls  below  the  level 
of  the  men  who  surround  him;  —  where  the  man  of  virtue  and 
talents  is  the  only  acknowledged  superior,  and  where  the  man 
possessing  those  requisites  of  an  artist,  needs  no  protector  and 
acknowledges  no  patron.  The  artist  who  feels  the  necessity  of 
patronage,  must  do  one  of  two  things  —  abandon  his  high  and 
responsible  character,  bow  to  the  golden  calf  that  he  may  par- 
take of  the  bread  and  wine  set  before  the  idol,  or  abandon  his 
profession  —  grasp  the  axe  and  the  plough,  instead  of  the 
crayon  and  pencil.  The  agriculturist,  the  mechanic,  the  sailor, 
the  cartman,  the  sawyer,  the  chimney-sweeper,  need  no  pro- 
tectors. When  they  are  wanted  they  are  sought  for  —  so 


AMERICAN  ART  ORIGINS  11 

should  it  be  with  the  artist;  at  least  let  him  be  as  independent 
as  the  last. 

The  artists  who  visited  the  colonies  found  friends  and  em- 
ployers; they  did  not  need  protectors.  They  exchanged  the 
product  of  their  skill  and  labor  for  the  money  of  the  rich,  and 
received  kindness  and  hospitality  "in  the  bargain."  Our  first 
visitors  were  probably  all  from  Great  Britain;  and  none  staid 
long.  The  pilgrims  who  sought  refuge  from  oppression,  and 
the  other  pioneers  of  colonization,  had  their  thoughts  suffi- 
ciently employed  on  the  arts  of  necessity,  and  the  means  of 
subsistence  or  defence.  Their  followers  brought  wealth  and 
pictures,  and  imported  from  home  the  articles  of  luxury,  and 
the  materials  for  ornamental  architecture.  As  wealth  increased, 
art  and  artists  followed;  and  as  the  effects  of  that  freedom 
which  the  colonists  enjoyed  were  felt,  native  artists  sprang  up, 
and  excelled  the  visitors  from  the  fatherland. 

As  the  work  of  Vertue,  the  historian  of  the  arts  in  England, 
has  been  made  perfect  by  Walpole  and  Dallaway,  so  we  may 
hope  that  in  process  of  time,  this  work  will  have  additions 
made  to  it  by  those  who  may  discover  more  than  has  been 
yielded  to  our  researches.  We  have  rescued  many  facts  from 
oblivion  which  would  otherwise  have  been  lost,  and  perhaps 
opened  the  way  for  the  discovery  of  more.  Many  of  the  art- 
ists who  first  visited  the  colonies,  have  left  no  traces  that  we 
can  as  yet  discover.  We,  therefore,  begin  our  history  of  the 
arts  of  design  as  introduced  into  the  country  now  called  the 
United  States  of  America,  with  the  name  of  a  man  who  chose 
for  his  place  of  residence  the  native  town  of  the  writer.  Prob- 
ably many  of  the  pioneers  who  led  the  way,  and  opened  a 
path  for  the  arts  in  our  country,  had  little  merit  as  artists, 
but  they  are  objects  of  curious  inquiry  to  us  of  the  present 
day;  for  as  we  earnestly  desire  to  know  every  particular  rela- 
tive to  the  first  settlers  who  raised  the  standard  of  civilization 
in  the  wilderness;  so  the  same  rational  desire  is  felt,  espe- 
cially by  artists,  to  learn  who  were  their  predecessors;  who 
raised  and  who  supported  the  standard  of  taste,  and  decorated 
the  social  column  with  its  Corinthian  capital. 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

JOHN  WATSON 

Came  to  the  colonies  in  1715,  and  set  up  his  easel  in  the  capi- 
tal of  New  Jersey,  Perth  Amboy.  This  gentleman  was  a 
native  of  Scotland.  The  precise  place  of  his  birth  we  do  not 
know;  the  year  in  which  he  was  born  is  found  by  the  date  of 
his  death  engraved  on  his  tombstone,  and  the  age  at  which  he 
died.  He  was  born  in  1685. 

The  commanding  and  beautiful  point  on  which  the  settlers 
and  proprietors  of  New  Jersey  fixed  for  the  site  of  their  capital, 
has  a  fine  harbor,  sheltered  by  Staten  Island  on  one  side,  and 
the  hills  of  Monmouth  on  the  other,  and  receiving  the  waters 
of  the  Raritan  from  the  west,  and  those  of  the  Pesaic  and 
Hackensack  through  Arthurkull  Sound,  from  the  north.  In 
the  eyes  of  the  colonists  of  that  day,  it  was  viewed  as  the  seat 
designed  by  nature  for  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of 
the  middle  colonies.  Time  has  shown  how  baseless  were  their 
hopes.  Commerce  has  centered  at  the  meeting  of  a  greater 
river,  with  a  more  extensive  arm  of  the  sea;  but  the  capital  of 
New  Jersey,  notwithstanding  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  was  in 
1715,  and  long  after,  a  place  of  commercial  and  political  con- 
sequence; it  will  ever  be  in  situation  and  capabilities  one  of 
the  pleasantest  and  most  healthy  places  on  the  seaboard. 

Mr.  Watson  fixed  upon  this  city  as  the  place  of  his  sojourn, 
purchased  land,  and  built  houses.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and 
by  profession  a  portrait  painter.  He  lived  long  in  the  land  of 
his  choice,  and  died  in  extreme  old  age. 

The  writer  remembers  well  the  child's  wonder  that  was 
caused  in  his  early  life,  by  the  appearance  of  the  house  this 
artist  once  owned  (for  he  was  then  dead),  and  the  tales  that 
were  told  of  the  limner  in  answer  to  the  questions  asked.  His 
dwelling-house  had  been  pulled  down  by  his  heir,  but  a  smaller 
building  which  adjoined  it,  and  which  had  been  his  painting 
and  picture  house,  remained  and  attracted  admiration  by  the 
heads  of  sages,  heroes,  and  kings.  The  window-shutters  were 
divided  into  squares,  and  each  square  presented  the  head 
of  a  man  or  woman,  which,  if  memory  can  be  trusted  at  this 
distant  period,  after  an  interval  of  more  than  sixty  years,  rep- 


SIR  WILLIAM  KEITH 

1680-1749 
BY  JOHN  WATSON 


WATSON'S  RELATIVES  13 

resented  personages  in  antique  costume,  and  the  men  with 
beards  and  helmets,  or  crowns.  In  answer  to  the  questions 
elicited  by  this  display  of  art,  the  inquirer  was  told  that  the 
painter  had  been  considered  in  the  neighborhood,  and  was 
handed  down  traditionally,  as  a  miser  and  an  usurer  —  words  of 
dire  portent  —  probably  meaning  that  he  was  a  prudent,  per- 
haps a  wise  man,  who  lived  without  ostentation  or  superfluous 
expense,  and  lent  the  excess  of  his  revenue  to  those  who  wanted 
it,  and  who  could  give  security  for  principal  and  interest, 
instead  of  locking  it  up  as  a  useless  idol  in  his  strong  box,  or 
risking  it  on  the  fluctuating  waves  of  commercial  enterprise. 
"The  story  ran"  that  old  Mr.  Watson  painted  many  portraits 
and  lent  his  money  to  those  who  employed  him,  thus  procuring 
employment  from  those  who  could  secure  payment,  and,  ac- 
cording to  English  phraseology,  patronizing  his  patrons.  At 
all  events,  like  Jacob's  flocks  and  Shylock's  ducats,  his  riches 
had  increase. 

"This  was  a  way  to  thrive,  and  he  was  blest, 
And  thrift  is  blessing,  if  men  steal  it  not." 

Mr.  Watson  never  was  married,  and  having  no  children  he 
prevailed  upon  several  relatives,  notwithstanding  that  attach- 
ment to  their  soil  which  distinguishes  his  countrymen,  to  leave 
Scotland,  and  settle  in  Perth  Amboy,  made  dear  to  them  by 
one  of  its  names,  and  the  report  of  the  painter's  riches.  He 
had  a  nephew  who  was  a  midshipman  in  the  British  navy,  but 
even  that  comparatively  eligible  home  was  abandoned,  on 
promise  of  inheriting  his  uncle's  wealth.  Mr.  Alexander  Watson, 
the  son  of  the  painter's  brother,  accordingly  became  a  resident 
with  his  uncle,  superintended  his  business  when  he  became  too 
infirm  to  paint  or  even  to  examine  bonds  and  mortgages,  and 
shared  his  frugal  fare  with  the  cheering  hope  of  a  blessed 
change  when  the  old  man  should  "shuffle  off  this  mortal  coil." 

But  "hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick."  The  painter 
became  blind,  and  deaf,  and  bedrid,  but  still  he  lived.  In 
this  condition  the  old  man  remained  several  years.  The 
nephew,  anticipating  the  hour  in  which  he  was  to  become  lord 
of  money  and  houses,  and  lands,  used  to  speak  of  this  as  that 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

which  must  soon  come  "in  the  course  of  nature,  you  know," 
but  in  the  meanwhile  had  no  power  over  the  revenue.  During 
this  period,  which  is  called  proverbially  the  time  of  "waiting 
for  dead-men's  shoes,"  the  house  wanted  repairing;  but  the 
bedrid  man  turned  his  deafest  ear  to  any  proposal  involving 
the  expenditure  of  money,  for  that  or  any  other  purpose.  The 
hand  grasped  the  world's  idol  with  the  greater  intenseness  as 
the  hour  approached  on  which  its  hold  must  be  relaxed  forever. 
The  nephew,  trusting  to  the  uncle's  incapability  of  moving  or 
hearing,  and  finding  tradesmen  willing  to  trust  to  the  kind 
course  of  nature,  determined  to  prevent  the  decay  of  the 
property  he  felt  an  heir's  affection  for,  and  concluded  his  bar- 
gain with  the  carpenters  for  a  new  roof,  to  be  paid  for  "in  the 
course  of  nature,  you  know."  Accordingly,  the  house  was 
unroofed,  and  re-roofed,  while  the  owner  was  living  in  it,  per- 
fectly unconscious  of  the  important  operation  which  was  in 
progress  over  his  head.  The  strokes  of  hammers,  however, 
occasionally  reached  his  ear,  and  penetrated  through  the  ob- 
stacles interposed  by  art  and  nature,  and  the  heir  was  startled 
by  the  question,  "What  is  the  meaning  of  that  pecking  and 
knocking  that  I  hear  every  day?"  The  nephew  taken  by  sur- 
prise, answered,  "pecking!  —  pecking?  —  oh,  ay!  —  it's  the 
woodpeckers  —  they  are  in  amazing  quantities  this  year  — 
leave  the  trees,  and  attack  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  There  is  no 
driving  them  off."  The  roof  was  finished,  and  the  saucy  birds 
ceased  pecking. 

"In  the  course  of  nature"  the  old  man  at  length  died,  but 
not  until  between  eighty  and  ninety  years  of  age.  After  his 
first  visit  to  America,  in  1715,  the  painter  had  returned  to 
Europe,  and  had  brought  from  thence  to  his  adopted  country, 
many  pictures,  which,  with  those  of  his  own  composition, 
formed  no  inconsiderable  collection  in  point  of  number;  of 
their  value  we  are  ignorant.  It  is,  however,  a  curious  fact, 
that  the  first  painter,  and  the  first  collection  of  paintings  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge,  were  planted  at  the  place  of 
the  writer's  nativity  —  Perth  Amboy. 

We  have  been  told  that  many  of  Mr.  Watson's  pictures  were 


WATSON'S  PICTURESQUE  HOME  15 

portraits,  real  or  imaginary,  of  the  kings  of  England  and 
Scotland;  and  this  agrees  with  the  awe-inspiring,  inveterate 
heroes  we  remember  to  have  seen  on  his  window-shutters. 
The  painter's  heir  very  naturally  took  part  with  the  loyal  ad- 
herents of  his  former  master,  and  fled  from  the  storm  which 
gathered  in  New  Jersey  threatening  the  invader,  who  came  with 
fire  and  sword  to  keep  the  "king's  peace,"  in  1776.  The 
rebels,  a  motley  mass  of  half-armed  militia,  under  General 
Mercer  (soon  after  killed  at  the  battle  of  Princeton),  made  a 
show  of  opposition  to  the  regulars  of  Britain,  who  were  divided 
from  them  by  the  waters  of  Arthurkull  Sound.  Of  course 
the  deserted  house  and  collection  of  paintings  were  left  at  the 
mercy  of  the  undisciplined  yeomanry,  and  this  first  cabinet  of 
the  fine  arts  was  broken  up,  and  the  treasures  dispersed  by 
those  who  probably  took  delight  in  executing  summary  justice 
on  the  effigies  of  the  Nimrods  of  the  fatherland. 

An  excavation,  the  remains  of  a  cellar,  marks  the  site  of 
Watson's  house,  and  proves  that  his  taste  for  the  picturesque 
was  not  despicable.  On  an  elevation  which  gradually  sloped 
to  the  verge  of  the  bank,  the  painter  had  seated  himself;  the 
beautiful  point  of  Staten  Island  in  front,  over  which  he  looked 
to  the  sea  and  to  the  highlands  of  Navesink,  so  dear  to  the 
mariner;  to  the  right  the  spacious  bay  is  bounded  by  the  un- 
dulating hills  of  Monmouth,  and  the  rich  lowlands  of  Middle- 
town.  Such  in  life  was  the  artist's  situation  —  his  remains  lie 
in  the  cemetery  of  the  venerable  brick  Episcopal  church,  a 
little  south  of  his  chosen  residence. 

His  grave  is  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  churchyard, 
and  has  a  tombstone  with  the  following  inscription: 

"Here  lies  interred  the  body  of  Mr.  John  Watson,  who  de- 
parted this  life  August  22d,  1768,  aged  83  years." 

None  of  the  pictures  brought  into  this  country  or  painted 
by  him  can  now  be  found  ;lyet  that  he  had  and  continues  to  have 
an  influence  on  the  progress  of  the  arts  in  the  United  States, 

1  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  has  two  drawings  by  John  Watson 
probably  made  between  1717  and  1728.  They  are  in  India  ink  of  Governor  Keith  and 
his  wife. 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

will  not  be  doubted  by  any  who  have  duly  considered  the  sub- 
ject of  cause  and  effect.  It  perhaps  would  not  be  too  much 
to  attribute  the  writing  of  this  book  to  the  emigration  of  Mr. 
John  Watson;  it  is  to  be  seen  whether  our  efforts  will  forward 
the  progress  of  the  arts  it  treats  of. 

Of  the  next  painter  who  visited  America,  we  have  many 
interesting  particulars. 


CHAPTER  II. 

JOHN  SMIBERT — NATHANIEL  SMIBERT — BLACKBURN — WILLIAMS 
— R.  FEKE — GREEN — THEUS. 

JOHN  SMYBERT 

(For  so  he  has  spelled  his  name  on  the  picture  of  Dean  Berke- 
ley and  family,  now  at  Yale  College),1  had  a  powerful  and  last- 
ing effect  on  the  arts  of  design  in  this  country.  We  see  the 
influence  of  Smibert  and  his  works  upon  Copley,  Trumbull, 
and  Allston.  Copley  was  a  youth  of  thirteen  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  Smibert's  death,  and  probably  had  instructions 
from  him  —  certainly  from  his  pictures.  Trumbull,  having 
retired  from  the  army  in  the  winter  of  1776  or  spring  of  1777, 
because  his  commission  as  deputy-adjutant-general,  was  dated 
in  September,  instead  (as  he  thought  it  ought  to  be)  in  June, 
resumed  his  study  of  painting  in  Boston  in  1777,  amidst  the 
works  of  Copley,  and  in  the  room  "which  had  been  built  by 
Smibert,  in  which  remained  many  of  his  works."  And  Allston 

1  Notwithstanding  the  statements  made  in  the  letter  to  Dunlap  written  by  Pro- 
fessor C.  A.  Goodrich  of  Yale  College  in  1834  the  signature  on  the  portrait  group  of 
Berkeley  and  his  family  is  "Jo  Smibert  1729"  and  appears  on  the  edge  of  the  book 
lying  flat  and  serving  as  a  rest  for  the  open  book.  Dunlap 's  error  in  spelling  the  name 
Smybert  has  been  repeated  by  Tuckerman  and  other  writers  on  early  American  Art. 
The  signature  of  Smibert  also  appears  on  the  portrait  of  Dean  Berkeley  belonging  to 
the  Worcester  Art  Museum.  The  following  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Yale 
School  of  Fine  Arts  at  New  Haven  shows  conclusively  that  Dunlap  was  in  error  in 
spelling  the  name  Smybert. 

November  20,  1917. 
Mr.  Frank  W.  Bayley, 
Boston,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir: 

Answering  your  inquiry  regarding  the  Smibert  signature,  I  have  examined  the 
picture  and  find  the  name  spelled  Smibert. 

Very  truly  yours, 

George  H.  Langzettel. 

Secretary. 

In  this  edition,  therefore,  the  corrected  spelling  of  Smibert's  name  will  appear, 
except  in  the  printing  of  Professor  Goodrich's  letter. 

17 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

says,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  after  speaking  of  the  pictures  of 
Pine,  "But  I  had  a  higher  master  in  the  head  of  Cardinal 
Bentevoglio,  from  Van  Dyck,  in  the  College  library  (Cam- 
bridge), which  I  obtained  permission  to  copy,  one  winter  va- 
cation. This  copy  from  Van  Dyck  was  by  Smibert,  an  Eng- 
lish painter,  who  came  to  this  country  with  Dean,  afterwards 
Bishop  Berkeley.  At  that  time  it  seemed  to  me  perfection,  but 
when  I  saw  the  original,  some  years  afterwards,  I  had  to  alter 
my  notions  of  perfection;  however,  I  am  grateful  to  Smibert 
for  the  instruction  he  gave  me  —  his  work  rather." 

It  is  thus  that  science,  literature  and  art  are  propagated ;  and 
it  is  thus  that  we  owe,  perhaps,  the  coloring  of  Allston  to  the 
faint  reflection  of  Van  Dyck  in  Smibert.  West,  as  we  shall 
see,  was  out  of  the  sphere  of  Smibert's  influence. 

We  owe  the  introduction  of  Smibert  to  one  of  the  best  of 
men  —  Dean  Berkeley.  Gratitude  requires  that  we  should  not 
in  this  work  pass  by  his  name  with  slight  notice,  and  we  can- 
not better  pay  the  debt  than  by  quotations  from  the  "histor- 
ical discourse"  of  our  distinguished  fellow-citizen,  Gulian 
C.  Verplanck:  — 

"With  all  this  metaphysical  subtility,  Berkeley  was  equally 
distinguished  for  the  depth  and  variety  of  his  knowledge,  the 
exuberance  and  gracefulness  of  his  imagination,  the  elegance 
of  his  conversation  and  manners,  and  the  purity  of  his  life.  It 
was  about  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  that,  wearied  out  by 
these  fruitless  speculations,  in  which  the  most  vigorous  mind 
'can  find  no  end,  in  wandering  mazes  lost,'  he  conceived  the 
project  of  founding  a  university  in  the  island  of  Bermuda  on 
so  liberal  a  scale  as  to  afford  the  amplest  means  of  diffusing 
scientific  and  religious  instruction  over  the  whole  of  the 
British  possessions  in  America.  Dr.  Berkeley,  at  that  time, 
held  the  richest  church  preferment  in  Ireland,  and  had  the 
fairest  prospects  of  advancement  to  the  first  literary  and  ec- 
clesiastical dignities  of  that  country,  or  even  of  England.  All 
these,  with  a  disinterestedness  which  excited  the  astonishment 
and  sneers  of  Swift  and  his  literary  friends,  he  proposed  to 
resign  for  a  bare  maintenance  as  principal  of  the  projected 


"WESTWARD  THE  COURSE  OF  EMPIRE—"         19 

American  University.  His  personal  character  and  influence, 
and  the  warmth  of  his  benevolent  eloquence,  soon  subdued  or 
silenced  open  opposition.  He  obtained  a  charter  from  the 
crown,  and  the  grant  of  a  large  sum  of  money,  to  be  raised 
from  the  sale  of  certain  lands  in  the  island  of  St.  Christopher, 
which  had  been  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  to  the  British 
government,  but  had  afterwards  been  totally  forgotten  or 
neglected,  and  of  the  real  value  of  which  he  had  with  great 
industry  acquired  an  accurate  knowledge. 

"To  describe  Berkeley's  confident  anticipations  of  the 
future  glories  of  America,  we  must  have  recourse  to  his  own 
words. 

'  The  Muse,  disgusted  at  an  age  and  clime 

Barren  of  every  glorious  theme, 
In  distant  lands  now  waits  a  better  time, 
Producing  subjects  worthy  fame. 

In  happy  climes  where  from  the  genial  sun 

And  virgin  earth  such  scenes  ensue, 
The  force  of  art  by  nature  seems  outdone, 

And  fancied  beauties  by  the  true: 

In  happy  climes,  the  seat  of  innocence, 

Where  nature  guides  and  virtue  rules; 
Where  men  shall  not  impose  for  truth  and  sense 

The  pedantry  of  courts  and  schools: 

There  shall  be  sung  another  golden  age, 

The  rise  of  empires  and  of  arts, 
The  good  and  great,  inspiring  epic  rage, 

The  wisest  heads  and  noblest  hearts. 

Not  such  as  Europe  breeds  in  her  decay, 

Such  as  she  bred  when  fresh  and  young, 
When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  clay, 

By  future  poets  shall  be  sung. 

Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way; 

The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  — 

Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last.' 

"I  have  quoted  these  fine  lines  at  length  because  I  do  not 
recollect  to  have  seen  or  heard  them  referred  to  in  this  country. 
They  were  written  fifty  years  before  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence; and  to  the  patriot  who  may  now  exult  with  un- 
doubting  hope,  in  the  great  and  sure  destinies  of  our  nation, 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

they  may  well  seem  to  revive  the  old  connexion  between  the 
prophetic  character  and  that  of  the  poet: 

'  For,  in  a  Roman  mouth,  the  graceful  name 
Of  poet  and  of  prophet  were  the  same.'  * 

"Confiding  in  these  glorious  auguries,  and  animated  by  the 
pure  ambition  of  contributing  to  hasten  forward  this  'rise  of 
empire  and  of  arts,'  he  sailed  from  England  in  1728.  He  came 
first  to  Rhode  Island,  where  he  determined  to  remain  for  a 
short  time,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  lands  on  this  con- 
tinent as  estates  for  the  support  of  his  college,  as  well  as  in 
order  to  gain  a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  northern 
colonies.  Here  he  soon  became  convinced  that  he  had  erred 
altogether  in  his  choice  of  Bermuda;  and  he  applied  for  an 
alteration  of  his  charter,  empowering  him  to  select  some  place 
on  the  American  continent  for  the  site  of  the  university,  which 
would,  probably,  have  been  fixed  in  the  city  of  New  York  or 
in  its  vicinity.  But  in  the  succeeding  year  all  his  sanguine 
hopes  were  at  once  extinguished  by  an  unexpected  court  in- 
trigue; and  a  large  sum  (£90,000  sterling  in  all),  that  had 
been  paid  into  the  treasury  from  the  funds  pointed  out  by 
Berkeley,  and  part  of  which  had  been  solemnly  appropriated 
to  the  projected  institution,  by  a  vote  of  parliament,  was  seized 
by  Sir  Robert  Walpole  to  pay  the  marriage  portion  of  the 
Princess  Royal;  an  additional  proof,  if  proof  were  needed,  of  the 
truth  of  the  old  republican  adage,  that  the  very  trappings  of  a 
monarchy  are  sufficient  to  support  a  moderate  commonwealth. 

"The  two  years  and  a  half  of  Berkeley's  residence  in  Rhode 
Island,  had  not  been  idly  spent.  It  was  there  that  he  composed 
his  'Minute  Philosopher,'  a  work  written  on  the  model  of  the 
'  Philosophical  Dialogues '  of  his  favorite,  Plato,  and,  like  them, 
to  be  admired  for  the  graces  which  a  rich  imagination  has 
carelessly  and  profusely  scattered  over  its  pages,  as  well  as  for 
novelty  of  thought  and  ingenuity  of  argument.  The  rural 
descriptions  which  frequently  occur  in  it,  are,  it  is  said,  ex- 
quisite pictures  of  some  of  those  delightful  landscapes  which 
presented  themselves  to  his  eye  at  the  time  he  was  writing. 

*Cowper. 


BERKELEY'S  DEATH  21 

"Berkeley  returned  to  Europe,  mortified  and  disappointed; 
but  as  there  was  nothing  selfish  or  peevish  in  his  nature,  the 
failure  of  this  long  cherished  and  darling  project  could  not 
abate  the  ardor  of  his  philanthropy. 

"The  rest  of  his  history  belongs  more  to  Ireland  than  to 
America.  Never  had  that  ill-governed  and  injured  country  a 
purer  or  more  devoted  patriot.  His  "  Querist,"  his  "  Letters  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Clergy,"  and  his  other  tracts  on  Irish  poli- 
tics, are  full  of  practical  good  sense,  unbounded  charity,  and 
the  warmest  affection  for  his  country. 

"Such  was  the  strong  and  general  sense  of  the  usefulness  of 
these  labors,  that,  in  1749,  the  body  of  the  Irish  Roman 
Catholic  clergy,  in  a  formal  address  to  Dr.  Berkeley,  who  was 
then  Protestant  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  returned  him  'their  sincere 
and  hearty  thanks,'  for  certain  of  these  publications,  assuring 
him  that  'they  were  determined  to  comply  with  his  advice  in 
all  particulars';  they  add,  'that  every  page  contains  a  proof 
of  the  author's  extensive  charity,  his  views  are  only  towards 
the  public  good,  and  his  manner  of  treating  persons,  in  their 
circumstances,  so  very  uncommon,  that  it  plainly  shows  the 
good  man,  the  polite  gentleman,  and  the  true  patriot.'  ' 

He  died  at  Oxford,  in  1763,1  in  his  seventy-third  year.  His 
epitaph  in  the  cathedral  church  of  that  city,  deserves  to  be 
cited  for  the  dignified  and  concise  elegance  with  which  it 
records  his  praise. 

On  a  stone,  over  his  grave,  is  the  often  quoted  line  of  Pope, 

"To  Berkeley  every  virtue  under  heaven"; 

and  above  it,  after  his  name  and  titles, 

Viro 

Seu  ingenii  et  eruditionis  laudem 

Seu  probitatis  et  beneficentise  spectemus, 

Inter  primus  omnium  aetatum  numerando. 

Si  Christianus  fueris 

Si  amans  patrise 

Utroque  nomine  gaudere  potes 

BEKKELEIUM  VIXISSE. 

1  Dunlap  is  in  error  in  giving  the  date  of  Berkeley's  death;  he  died  on  January  14, 
1753. 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Swift,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Carteret,  says  — 

"There  is  a  gentleman  of  this  kingdom  just  gone  for  Eng- 
land; it  is  Dr.  George  Berkeley,  Dean  of  Derry,  the  best 
preferment  among  us,  being  worth  eleven  hundred  pounds  a 
year.  And  because  I  believe  you  will  choose  out  some  very 
idle  minutes  to  read  this  letter,  perhaps  you  may  not  be  ill  en- 
tertained with  some  account  of  the  man  and  his  errand.  He 
was  a  fellow  of  the  university  here,  and  going  to  England  very 
young,  about  thirteen  years  ago,  he  became  the  founder  of  a 
sect  there,  called  the  Immaterialists,  by  the  force  of  a  very  curi- 
ous book  upon  that  subject.  Dr.  Smallridge  and  many  other 
eminent  persons  were  his  proselytes.  I  sent  him  secretary 
and  chaplain  to  Sicily,  with  my  Lord  Peterborough;  and 
upon  his  lordship's  return,  Dr.  Berkeley  spent  above  seven 
years  in  travelling  over  most  parts  of  Europe,  but  chiefly 
through  every  corner  of  Italy,  Sicily,  and  other  islands.  When 
he  came  back  to  Ireland,  he  found  so  many  friends  that  he 
was  effectually  recommended  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  by  whom 
he  was  made  Dean  of  Derry.  Your  excellency  will  be  fright- 
ened when  I  tell  you  all  this  is  but  an  introduction;  for  I  am 
now  to  mention  his  errand.  He  is  an  absolute  philosopher 
with  regard  to  money,  titles,  and  power;  and,  for  three  years 
past,  has  been  struck  with  a  notion  of  founding  a  university 
at  Bermudas,  by  a  charter  from  the  crown.  He  has  seduced 
several  of  the  hopefullest  young  clergymen  and  others  here, 
many  of  them  well  provided  for,  and  all  of  them  in  the  finest 
way  of  preferment;  but  in  England  his  conquests  are  greater, 
and  I  doubt  will  spread  very  far  this  winter.  He  showed  me  a 
small  tract  which  he  designs  to  publish;  and  there  your  excel- 
lency will  see  his  whole  scheme  of  a  life  academico-philosophi- 
cal  (I  shall  make  you  remember  what  you  were)  of  a  college 
founded  for  Indian  scholars  and  missionaries;  wherein  he  most 
exorbitantly  proposes  a  whole  hundred  pounds  a  year  for  him- 
self, forty  pounds  for  a  fellow,  and  ten  for  a  student.  His 
heart  will  break  if  his  deanery  be  not  taken  from  him  and  left 
to  your  excellency's  disposal.  I  discouraged  him  by  the  cold- 
ness of  courts  and  ministers,  who  will  interpret  all  this  as  im- 


JOHN  LOVELL 

1710-1778 
BY  NATHANIEL  SMIBKKT 

From  the  collection  of  Harvard  University 


A  PROJECTED  UNIVERSITY  23 

possible,  and  a  vision;  but  nothing  will  do.  And,  therefore, 
I  humbly  entreat  your  excellency  either  to  use  such  persuasions 
as  will  keep  one  of  the  first  men  in  this  kingdom,  for  virtue 
and  learning,  quiet  at  home;  or  to  assist  him  by  your  credit  to 
compass  his  romantic  design;  which,  however,  is  very  noble 
and  generous,  and  proper  for  a  great  person  of  your  excellent 
education  to  encourage." 

And  Dr.  Blackwall  thus  speaks  of  the  wonderful  variety 
and  extent  of  Berkeley's  knowledge: 

"I  would  with  pleasure  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  a  very 
great,  though  singular  sort  of  man,  Dr.  Berkeley,  better 
known  as  a  philosopher  and  intended  founder  of  a  university 
in  the  Bermudas  than  as  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  in  Ireland.  An 
inclination  to  carry  me  out  on  that  expedition  as  one  of  the 
young  professors,  on  his  new  foundation,  having  brought  us 
often  together,  I  scarce  remember  to  have  conversed  with  him 
on  that  art,  liberal  or  mechanic,  of  which  he  knew  not  more 
than  ordinary  practitioners.  He  travelled  through  a  great 
part  of  Sicily  on  foot,  clambered  over  the  mountains,  and 
crept  into  the  caverns  to  investigate  its  natural  history  and 
discover  the  causes  of  its  volcanoes;  and  I  have  known  him 
sit  for^hours  in  forgeries  and  foundries,  to  inspect  their  suc- 
cessive operations.  I  enter  not  into  his  peculiarities,  either 
religious  or  personal,  but  admire  the  extensive  genius  of  the 
man,  and  think  it  a  loss  to  the  western  world,  that  his  noble 
and  exalted  plan  of  an  American  university  was  not  carried 
into  execution." 

The  reader  will  not  think  that  too  many  pages  devoted  to 
the  arts  have  been  appropriated  to  a  man  so  singular,  and  to 
whom  America  owes  so  much,  both  in  her  arts  and  her  litera- 
ture; for  Berkeley,  in  his  benevolent  project  for  spreading 
knowledge  in  America,  did  not  neglect  the  important  agency 
of  the  arts  of  design,  and  having  experience  of  the  character 
and  talents  of  Smibert,  who  had  been  his  fellow-traveller  in 
Italy,  chose  him  as  the  professor  of  drawing,  painting,  and 
architecture  for  his  intended  institution. 

"Smibert,"  as  Mr.  Verplanck  justly  observes,  "was  not  an 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

artist  of  the  first  rank,  for  the  arts  were  then  at  a  very  low  ebb 
in  England;  but  the  best  portraits  which  we  have  of  the  emi- 
nent magistrates  and  divines  of  New  England  and  New  York, 
who  lived  between  1725  and  1751,  are  from  his  pencil. 

"Horace  Walpole,  in  his  'Anecdotes  of  Painting,  in  England,' 
gives  some  account  of  him.  Walpole  was  a  man  of  fashion 
and  pleasure,  of  wit  and  taste,  and  withal  a  most  expert 
hunter  of  antiquarian  small  game;  but  he  had  no  heart  for 
anything  generous  or  great,  and  he  speaks  of  Berkeley's  plans 
as  might  be  expected  from  such  a  man;  though  he  may  be 
pardoned,  for  slurring  over,  as  he  does,  his  own  father's  conduct 
in  the  business. 

"  'John  Smibert,  of  Edinburgh,  was  born  about  1684,1  and 
served  his  time  with  a  common  house  painter;  but  eager  to 
handle  a  pencil  in  a  more  elevated  style,  he  came  to  London, 
where,  however,  for  subsistence,  he  was  forced  to  content  him- 
self, at  first,  with  working  for  coach-painters.  It  was  a  little 
rise  to  be  employed  in  copying  for  dealers,  and  from  thence  he 
obtained  admittance  into  the  academy.  His  efforts  and  ardor 
at  last  carried  him  to  Italy,  where  he  spent  three  years  in  copy- 
ing Raphael,  Titian,  Van  Dyck  and  Rubens,  and  improved 
enough  to  meet  with  much  business  at  his  return.  When  his 
industry  and  abilities  had  thus  surmounted  the  asperities  of 
his  fortune,  he  was  tempted,  against  the  persuasions  of  his 
friends,  to  embark  in  the  uncertain,  but  amusing,  scheme  of 
the  famous  Dean  Berkeley,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Cloyne, 
whose  benevolent  heart  was  then  warmly  set  on  the  erection  of 
a  universal  college  of  science  and  arts,  for  the  instruction  of 
heathen  children  in  Christian  duties  and  civil  knowledge. 
Smibert,  a  silent,  modest  man,  who  abhorred  the  finesse  of 
some  of  his  profession,  was  enchanted  with  a  plan  that,  he 
thought,  promised  him  tranquility  and  honest  subsistence  in  a 
healthful  Elysian  climate,  and  in  spite  of  remonstrances,  en- 
gaged with  the  Dean,  whose  zeal  had  ranged  the  favor  of  the 

1  John  Smibert,  son  of  John  Smibert,  was  born  in  Scotland  in  April,  1688,  and  came 
to  America  in  company  with  Rev.  George  Berkeley  (whose  portrait  is  reproduced 
signed  and  dated  1728)  in  1728  o.  a.  He  painted  in  Rhode  Island  and  Boston,  where 
he  died  in  1751. 


BRIG.   GEN.  JOSEPH  DWIGHT 

1703-1765 
BY  BLACKBURN,  1756 

From  the  collection  of  Mr.  Charles  Scdgwick  Rackemann 


WALPOLE  AND  BERKELEY  25 

court  on  his  side.  The  king's  death  dispelled  the  vision.  Smi- 
bert,  however,  who  had  set  sail,  found  it  convenient,  or  had 
resolution  enough,  to  proceed,  but  settled  at  Boston,  in  New 
England,  where  he  succeeded  to  his  .wish,  and  married  a  woman 
with  considerable  fortune,1  whom  he  left  a  widow  with  two 
children,  in  1751.' 

"Walpole  adds,  'We  may  conceive  how  a  man,  so  devoted 
to  his  art,  must  have  been  animated,  when  the  Dean's  enthusi- 
asm and  eloquence  painted  to  his  imagination  a  new  theatre  of 
prospects,  rich,  warm,  and  glowing  with  scenery  which  no 
pencil  had  yet  made  cheap  and  common  by  a  sameness  of 
thinking  and  imagination.  As  our  disputes  and  politics  have 
travelled  to  America,  is  it  not  probable  that  poetry  and  paint- 
ing, too,  will  revive  amidst  those  extensive  tracts  as  they  in- 
crease in  opulence  and  empire,  and  where  the  stores  of  nature 
are  so  various,  so  magnificent,  and  so  new?'  This  was  written 
in  1762. 

There  is  at  Yale  College  a  large  picture,  and,  from  its  sub- 
ject, an  interesting  one,  representing  Berkeley  and  some  of  his 
family,  together  with  the  artist  himself,  on  their  first  landing 
in  America.  I  presume  that  it  is  the  first  picture  of  more  than 
a  single  figure  ever  painted  in  the  United  States." 

We  find  the  following  passage  in  a  letter  from  Ramsay, 
the  author  of  the  "Gentle  Shepherd,"  to  Smibert,  dated 
1736. 

"My  son  Allan  has  been  pursuing  his  science  since  he  was 
a  dozen  years  auld;  was  with  Mr.  Hiffdig  in  London  for  some 
time,  about  two  years  ago;  he  has  since  been  painting  here 
like  a  Raphael;  sets  out  for  the  seat  of  the  beast  beyond  the 
Alps  within  a  month  hence,  to  be  away  two  years.  I'm  sweer 
to  part  with  him,  but  canna  stem  the  current  which  flows  from 
the  advice  of  his  patrons,  and  his  own  inclination." 

Even  this  scrap  has  become  interesting.  But  the  follow- 
ing letter  from  Professor  Goodrich,  of  Yale  College,  with 
the  extract  from  President  Stiles,  are  incomparably  more 
so. 

1  John  Smibert  and  Mary  Williams  were  married  in  Boston  July  30,  1730. 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"Yale  College,  April  20,  1834. 

"SiR —  I  embrace  the  earliest  opportunity  in  my  power  to 
answer  your  inquiries  respecting  Smybert's  painting  of  Bishop 
Berkeley  and  family,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  gallery  belong- 
ing to  this  college. 

"This  institution  had  a  peculiar  interest  in  possessing  some 
memorial  of  that  distinguished  man,  because  he  was  among 
our  early  benefactors.  He  came  to  this  country  in  the  year 
1728,  to  carry  into  effect  a  project  which  he  had  long  enter- 
tained, of  founding  a  college  in  Bermuda,  'for  converting 
the  savage  Americans  to  Christianity.'  A  large  grant  was 
promised  him  for  this  purpose,  by  the  British  government; 
and  while  waiting  for  its  arrival,  he  resided,  about  two  years, 
at  Newport,  R.  I.,  where  he  had  purchased  a  farm.  Here  the 
painting  in  question  was  executed  by  Smybert,  who  had 
attended  Bishop  Berkeley  to  this  country  as  a  member  of  his 
family,  which  likewise  embraced  a  young  lady  of  the  name  of 
Handcock,  and  two  gentlemen  of  fortune,  Mr.  James  and  Mr. 
Dal  ton.  Being  disappointed  in  receiving  the  money  promised 
by  the  government,  he  abandoned  the  project,  but  before  his 
return  to  England,  being  made  acquainted  with  the  condition 
and  wants  of  this  college,  he  presented  it  with  some  valuable 
books,  to  which  he  added  after  his  return,  a  donation  of  a 
thousand  volumes,  'the  finest  collection  of  books,'  President 
Clapp  says,  in  his  History,  'that  ever  came  .together  at  one 
time  to  America.'  He  sent  also  a  deed  of  his  farm  on  Rhode 
Island,  which  he  directed  to  be  held  in  trust  for  'the  mainte- 
nance, during  the  time  between  their  first  and  second  degree/ 
of  three  students  of  the  college,  who  should  be  found  on  ex- 
amination to  be  most  distinguished  for  their  attainments  in 
the  Latin  and  Greek  languages;  and  in  default  of  applicants  at 
any  time,  to  the  purchase  of  Latin  or  Greek  books,  as  premi- 
ums for  Latin  compositions  in  the  several  classes.  This  farm 
now  produces  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year,  and 
the  proceeds  are  regularly  applied  to  the  objects  designated 
by  the  donor. 

"About  the  year  1800,  the  late  President  Dwight,  being  on 


MRS.  JAMES  PITTS 
(ELIZABETH  BOWDOIN) 

1717-1771 
BY  BLACKBURN 

(1757) 
From  the  collection  of  Mr.  Lendall  I'itU 


THE  BERKELEY  FAMILY  27 

a  tour  to  the  southeastern  part  of  Massachusetts,  met  with 
Smybert's  picture  of  the  Berkeley  family  —  in  what  place  I 
cannot  exactly  learn.  It  was  but  little  prized,  however,  by 
its  possessor;  and  had  been  thrust  aside  and  neglected  until  it 
had  suffered  considerable  injury,  though  not  in  any  important 
part.  I  have  never  heard  how  a  painting  of  so  much  value 
came  into  such  a  situation.  Dr.  D wight  was  naturally  de- 
sirous to  obtain  it  for  the  college;  and  through  the  interven- 
tion of  Dr.  Waterhouse,  of  Cambridge,  succeeded  in  his  object. 
It  is  to  this  gentleman  chiefly  that  we  are  indebted  for  our 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  this  picture.  It  is  nine  feet  long, 
and  six  wide,  and  represents  Bishop  Berkeley  as  standing 
at  one  end  of  a  table,  which  is  surrounded  by  the  other  mem- 
bers of  his  family.  He  appears  to  be  in  deep  thought,  his 
eyes  slightly  raised;  one  hand  resting  on  a  folio  volume  (a 
copy  of  Plato,  his  favorite  author)  which  stands  on  the  table 
before  him;  and  is  engaged  in  dictating  to  his  Amanuensis 
(who  is  seated  at  the  other  end  of  the  table)  part  of  the  *  Minute 
Philosopher,'  which  is  said  to  have  been  commenced  during 
his  residence  at  Newport.  The  figure  of  the  Amanuensis, 
which  is  an  uncommonly  fine  one,  represents  Sir  James  Dalton. 
Miss  Handcock,  and  Mrs.  Berkeley,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms, 
are  seated  on  one  side  the  table,  whose  two  ends  are  occupied 
in  the  manner  just  described,  while  Mr.  James,  and  a  gentle- 
man of  Newport,  named  John  Moffat,  stand  behind  the  ladies. 
The  painter  has  placed  himself  in  the  rear,  standing  by  a 
pillar,  with  a  scroll  in  his  hand;  and  beyond  him  opens  a  very 
beautiful  water  scene,  with  woods  and  headlands,  the  original 
of  which  probably  once  existed  on  the  shores  of  the  Narra- 
gansett  Bay.  Dr.  Dwight  used  to  state  though  I  know  not 
his  authority,  that  the  sketch  of  this  picture  was  originally 
made  at  sea;  and  was  enlarged  and  finished  at  a  subsequent 
period  after  his  residence  at  Newport.  The  Mr.  Moffat  men- 
tioned above,  is  said,  by  Dr.  Waterhouse,  to  have  been  a 
dealer  in  paints,  a  Scotchman,  brother  to  Dr.  Thomas  Moffat, 
who  was  well  known  at  Newport,  and  afterwards  at  New 
London. 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"Of  Smybert  I  know  nothing.  Dr.  Water-house  mentions 
that  he  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Williams,  who  was  the  Latin 
schoolmaster  of  the  town  of  Boston  for  fifty  years. 

"I  enclose  an  extract  from  a  sermon  of  President  Stiles, 
respecting  Smybert. 

"The  name  on  the  painting  is  spelled  with  a  y.1 

"I  am,  sir,  with  much  respect,  yours,  etc., 

"C.  A.  GOODRICH. 

"Mr.  Smibert,  the  portrait  painter,  who  in  1728  accom- 
panied Dr.  Berkeley,  then  Dean  of  Derry,  and  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Cloyne,  from  Italy  to  America,  was  employed,  while 
at  Florence,  by  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  to  paint  two  or 
three  Siberian  Tartars,  presented  to  the  duke  by  the  Czar  of 
Russia.  This  Mr.  Smibert,  upon  his  landing  with  Dr.  Berkeley 
at  Narragansett  Bay,  instantly  recognized  the  Indians  here 
to  be  the  same  people  as  the  Siberian  Tartars,  whose  pictures 
he  had  taken." 

Thus  we  see  that  Smibert  married  respectably,  and  we  know 
that  he  lived  in  Boston  in  high  estimation  until  the  year  1751, 
leaving  two  children.  One  of  the  children  of  John  Smibert, 
was  a  son  of  the  name  of  Nathaniel,  who  was  born  and  died 
in  America.  We  have  the  following  notice  of  him  from  our 
valued  correspondent,  Judge  Cranch,  of  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia. 

NATHANIEL  SMIBERT. l 

"There  was  a  young  painter  in  Boston,  the  particular 
friend  of  my  father,  about  the  year  1755,  whose  name  should 
not  be  omitted  in  the  list  of  American  artists;  as  he  bade  fair 
to  be  one  of  the  first  of  the  age.  His  name  was  Nathaniel 
Smibert.  I  have  an  original  letter  of  friendship  from  him  to 
my  father  (the  late  Judge  Cranch  of  Quincy,  in  Mass.),  dated 

1  See  note  on  p.  17. 

1  Nathaniel  Smibert,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Williams  Smibert,  was  born  in  Boston 
January  20,  1734,  and  died  there  November  3,  1756.  His  obituary  notice  appeared 
in  the  Boston  Gazette  for  November  8,  1756. 


ROBERT  FEKE 
BY  HIMSELF 


A  YOUTH  OF  PROMISE  29 

'Boston,  August  5,  1755,'  and  a  copy  of  my  father's  answer, 
in  which  he  says,  'When  I  consider  the  ease  with  which  your 
hand  improves  the  beauty  of  the  fairest  form,  and  adds  new 
charms  to  the  most  angelic  face,  I  do  not  wonder  that  your 
riper  imagination  should  fly  beyond  your  pencil,  and  draw  the 
internal  picture  of  your  friend  so  much  fairer  than  the  original.' 
"In  a  letter  from  my  father  to  the  late  Dr.  John  Eliot,  of 
Boston,  dated  'Quincy,  July  20th,  1809,'  he  says  'Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Smibert,  whom  you  mention,  was  one  of  the  most 
amiable  youths  that  I  ever  was  acquainted  with;  but  he  came 
forth  as  a  flower  and  was  cut  down.  I  cannot  now,  after  an  in- 
terval of  more  than  fifty  years,  recollect  the  time  of  his  birth 
or  his  death.  I  remember  that  Mr.  Peter  Chardon,  who  took 
his  degree  in  1757,  was  then  one  of  our  acquaintance;  and  I 
think  that  Mr.  Smibert  died  about  that  time.  I  do  not  recol- 
lect that  he  left  any  writings.  He  received  his  grammar  instruc- 
tion under  the  famous  master  John  Lovell,1  but  did  not  proceed 
to  a  collegiate  education.  He  engaged  in  his  father's  profes- 
sion of  painting,  in  which  he  emulated  the  excellencies  of  the 
best  masters;  and  had  his  life  been  spared  he  would  probably 
have  been,  in  his  day,  what  Copley  and  West  have  since  been, 
the  honor  of  America  in  the  imitative  art.  I  remember  that 
one  of  his  first  portraits  was  the  picture  of  his  old  master 
Lovell,  drawn  while  the  terrific  impressions  of  the  pedagogue 
were  yet  vibrating  upon  his  nerves.  I  found  it  so  perfect  a 
likeness  of  my  old  neighbor,  that  I  did  not  wonder,  when  my 
young  friend  told  me  that  a  sudden,  undesigned  glance  at  it 
had  often  made  him  shudder.'  '  Of 

BLACKBURN* 

All  we  know  is,  that  he  was  nearly  contemporary  with  John 
Smibert,  and  painted  very  respectable  portraits  in  Boston.  Of 

1  The  portrait  of  John  Lovell  by  Nathaniel  Smibert  is  reproduced.     It  is  now  at 
Harvard  University,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

2  Little  that  is  authentic  is  known  of  Blackburn  other  than  his  portraits  made 
between  1754  and  1761.     He  executed  portraits  in  Boston,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and 
other  New  England  towns.    In  all  probability  he  was  a  visitor  from  the  mother  country, 
leaving  America  with  no  record  of  his  entry  or  departure.  . 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

WILLIAMS,  l 

Who  painted  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time  Smibert  flourished  in 
Boston,  we  know  little  more  than  of  Blackburn.  This  gentle- 
man would  have  escaped  our  notice,  but  that  Benjamin  West 
remembered  him  with  gratitude,  as  the  man  who  put  into  his 
hands,  when  a  boy,  the  first  books  he  had  ever  read  on  the 
subject  of  painting,  and  showed  him,  in  specimens  from  his 
own  pencil,  the  first  oil  pictures  he  had  ever  seen. 

Mr.  Williams  was  an  Englishman,  and  was  employed  by 
the  inhabitants  of  Penn's  city,  in  1746-7,  and  perhaps  after. 
That  he  sought  knowledge  in  his  art  we  know,  or  he  could 
not  have  lent  to  the  boy,  West,  the  works  of  Fresnoy  (of 
course  the  translation)  and  of  Richardson;  of  his  attainments 
as  exemplified  in  his  pictures,  we  know  nothing.  The  instruc- 
tion that  Benjamin  West  received  from  his  conversation,  his 
books,  and  his  paintings,  entitles  him  to  a  place  among  those 
who  assisted  in  forwarding  the  progress  of  the  arts  of  design 
in  our  country. 

R.  FEKE* 

Is  the  name  of  a  painter  inscribed  on  a  portrait  of  Mrs.  Welling, 
with  the  date  of  1746,  of  course  contemporary  with  Williams. 

1  William  Williams  may  have  been  a  native  of  New  York,  but  little  is  known  of  his 
origin  or  life.  A  William  Williams  advertised  in  a  Philadelphia  paper  in  January, 
1763,  that  he  had  "returned  from  the  West  Indies  and  was  to  be  found  in  Loxley  court 
where  he  was  prepared  to  do  painting  in  general."  He  painted  the  scenery  for  the  old 
Southwark  Theatre  in  Philadelphia  and  his  portrait  of  Samuel  Shoemaker  is  said  to 
be  the  first  portrait  Benjamin  West  ever  saw.  In  the  Cope  Collection  of  Mezzotints 
there  was  a  proof  before  letter  of  Pether's  portrait  of  West  after  Lawrensen  with  this 
inscription,  doubtless  in  the  hand  of  Williams,  "  Benjamin  West,  Esq.  Painter  to  King 
George  III  A.D.  1776.  The  gift  of  Benj.  West  Esq.  Painter  to  his  much  obliged  friend 
William  Williams,  Painter."  A  William  Williams  is  noted  by  Redgrave  as  receiving  a 
medal  of  the  Society  of  Arts  in  1759.  He  was  probably  the  same  William  Williams 
who  made  the  portrait  of  Washington  signed  and  dated  1794  which  is  now  hanging  in 
the  lodge  room  of  Washington  Lodge  of  Masons  at  Alexandria,  Va. 

1  Robert  Feke  appeared  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  as  a  portrait  painter  about  1726.  Under 
a  lithographic  copy  of  his  own  portrait  the  date  of  his  birth  is  given  as  1705  and  the 
date  of  his  death  as  1750.  Feke  it  is  supposed  died  in  the  Barbadoes.  He  worked  in 
Boston,  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Alexander  Hamilton  who  met  Feke  at 
Newport  in  1744  says  in  his  "  Itinerarium  " :  "  This  man  had  exactly  the  phiz  of  a  painter, 
having  a  long  pale  face,  sharp  noze,  large  eyes  withe  which  he  looked  upon  you  stead- 
fastly, long  curled  black  hair,  a  delicate  white  hand,  and  long  fingers."  (See  the 
portrait  reproduced.) 


MRS.  GERSHOM  FLAGG 
(HANNAH  PITSON) 

1711-1784 
BY  ROBERT  FEKE 


OLD-TIME  PORTRAITURE  31 

GREEN1 

Is  the  name  of  a  portrait  painter,  who  visited  the  colonies 
nearly  about  the  same  time.* 

The  next  name  we  can  record  is  that  of 


THETIS.* 

A  gentleman  of  this  name  painted  portraits  in  South  Caro- 
lina, certainly  as  early  as  1750.  The  faces  (as  we  are  informed) 
were  generally  painted  with  great  care.  Our  correspondent's 
expression  is,  "beautifully  painted";  but  he  had  not  the  art 
to  give  grace  and  picturesque  effect  to  the  stiff  brocades, 
enormous  ruffles,  and  outre  stays  and  stomachers  of  our  grand- 
mothers; or  the  wigs,  velvet  coats,  and  waistcoats,  with  buck- 
ram skirts  and  flaps,  and  other  courtly  appendages  to  the  dig- 
nity of  our  grandfathers.  His  pictures  were  as  stiff  and  formal 
as  the  originals,  when  dressed  for  the  purpose  and  sitting  for 
them.  Our  valuable  correspondent,  Charles  Fraser,  Esq.  of 
Charleston,  says,  "I  own  one  of  his  pictures,  which  independ- 
ently of  its  claims  as  a  family  portrait  of  1750,  I  value  for  its 
excellence." 


*  Our  friend  John  F.  Watson,  to  whom  the  public  is  indebted  for  researches  into 
the  antiquities  of  our  recent  country,  informs  us  that  he  has  seen  a  portrait  of  Samuel 
Carpenter,  a  primitive  settler  of  Philadelphia,  a  leader,  and  one  of  its  ablest  improv- 
ers.  The  portrait,  he  says,  is  well  painted.   This  Samuel  Carpenter  was  the  original 
owner  of  the  house  in  which  William  Penn  lived  in  1700,  and  in  which  John  Penn,  the 
only  one  of  the  race  born  in  America,  first  saw  the  light.    Carpenter's  portrait  is  a 
little  under  the  size  of  life,  and  is  now  (1833)  with  a  descendant,  Isaac  C.  Jones,  Eighth 
Street,  Philadelphia.    This  portrait  may  have  been  painted  before  Carpenter  left 
England. 

1  John  Green.    The  pencil  portrait  of  him  reproduced  is  from  a  drawing  by  Ben- 
jamin West  belonging  to  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania. 

*  Jeremiah  Theus.     The  first  introduction  we  have  of  Theus  is  a  notice  by  him  in 
the  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Gazette  of  August  30,  1740,  that  "Gentlemen  and  Ladies  may 
have  their  pictures  drawn."     He  was  one  of  three  brothers  who  came  to  South  Carolina 
from  Switzerland  about  1739.     He  painted  about  thirty-five  years  in  South  Carolina, 
where  he  died  at  Charleston  May  18,  1774. 


CHAPTER  in. 

BENJAMIN  WEST. 

THE  next  painter,  in  chronological  order,  is  indigenous. 
We  no  longer  seek  darkling  for  any  of  the  events  we  wish  to 
record.  His  virtues  and  his  talents  have  shed  a  lustre  around 
his  name,  and  we  view  him  by  a  light  radiating  from  himself. 
His  influence  on  the  art  he  professed  will  never  cease. 

Benjamin  West  commenced  portrait-painting  in  the  year 
1753,  and  is  therefore  the  next  subject  for  the  reader's  consid- 
eration. We  shall  show  his  early  efforts  in  his  native  country, 
and  accompany  him  to  the  land  which  old  Allan  Ramsay  called 
"the  seat  of  the  beast,"  but  which  West  found  a  pure  fountain 
of  instruction  —  for  to  the  pure  all  is  pure  —  the  land  of 
Buonorotti  and  Raphael  —  the  land  of  color  and  form,  and  of 
all  those  associations  which  make  and  delight  the  poet  and 
the  painter.  From  thence  we  shall  follow  him  to  the  land  of 
his  fathers,  and  show  the  effects  of  his  unsullied  life  as  a  man, 
and  unrivalled  skill  in  historical  composition,  upon  the  arts 
of  both  hemispheres.  The  picture  copied  from  Van  Dyck 
by  Smibert  produced  effects  on  the  progress  of  art  in 
America,  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  limits ;  but  the 
effects  of  the  fame  and  the  instructions  of  West  are  literally 
incalculable. 

In  the  year  1753,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  Benjamin  West 
commenced  portrait  and  historical  painting.  The  first  portrait, 
regularly  undertaken  as  such  from  a  sitter,  was  that  of  Mrs. 
Ross,  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  go 
back  to  an  earlier  period,  and  to  seek  from  every  source  the 
facts  appertaining  to  his  family  and  early  life. 

Honest  Allan  Cunningham  gives  us  the  following  account 
of  the  painter's  ancestors : 

32 


JAMES  BOWDOIN 

1727-1790 
By  ROBERT  FEKE 

From  the  collection  of  Bowiloin  College 


GALT  AS  BIOGRAPHER  33 

"John  West,  the  father  of  Benjamin,  was  of  that  family 
settled  at  Long  Crendon,  in  Buckinghamshire,  which  produced 
Colonel  James  West,  the  friend  and  companion  in  arms  of 
John  Hampden.  Upon  one  occasion,  in  the  course  of  a  con- 
versation in  Buckingham  Palace,  respecting  his  picture  of 
the  Institution  of  the  Garter,  West  happened  to  make  some 
allusion  to  his  English  descent;  when  the  Marquis  of  Buck- 
ingham, to  the  manifest  pleasure  of  the  late  king  (George  III), 
declared  that  the  Wests  of  Long  Crendon  were  undoubted 
descendants  of  the  Lord  Delaware,  renowned  in  the  wars  of 
Edward  the  Third  and  the  Black  Prince,  and  that  the  artist's 
likeness  had  therefore  a  right  to  a  place  among  those  of  the 
nobles  and  warriors  in  his  own  piece." 

Benjamin  West  has  found  a  most  injudicious  biographer  in 
John  Gait,  but  still  we  may  rely  upon  certain  portions  of  his 
book,  although  we  dismiss  the  puerilities  of  the  performance, 
and  the  absurd  tales  and  speeches  of  general  officers,  Quaker 
preachers,  Indian  actors,  and  Italian  improvisalori,  which  we 
find  in  it,  as  altogether  unworthy.  West  never  could  have 
given  Mr.  Gait  a  long  harangue  as  Washington's,  addressed 
to  a  woman  who  brought  him  a  letter  from  parson  Duche  to 
persuade  him  to  renounce  the  cause  of  his  country  and  join 
the  arms  of  England.  A  letter  which  agitated  the  general 
much,  as  Gait  writes,  and,  as  is  intimated,  caused  indecision  as 
to  the  course  he  should  pursue;  for  the  writer  says,  "Having 
decided  with  himself,  he  stopped"  from  walking  "backwards 
and  forwards,"  "and  addressed  her  in  nearly  the  following 
words."  Among  other  absurdities,  he  is  made  to  say,  "I  am 
here  intrusted  by  the  people  of  America  with  sovereign  au- 
thority," and  continues  to  justify  his  conduct  in  a  strain  of 
stupid  bombast  that  would  disgrace  a  schoolboy.  Neither  is  it 
to  be  believed  that  Mr.  West  furnished  his  biographer  with  the 
speeches  of  the  Quaker  preachers,  or  of  the  Mohawk  Indian 
who  found  another  Mohawk  Indian  an  actor  on  the  stage  at 
New  York.  Such  passages  are  almost  enough  to  make  us 
disbelieve  the  whole  of  Mr.  Gait's  book;  but  as  I  hope  I  can 
separate  the  poetry  from  the  facts,  I  will  make  use  of  the  work 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

in  combination  with  such  truth  as  I  can  collect  from  other 
sources,  or  possess  of  my  own  knowledge. 

Benjamin  West,  the  youngest  son  of  John  West  and  Sarah 
Pearson,  was  born  near  Springfield,  in  Chester  county,  in  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1738.  Ten 
years  after  Smibert,  as  before  stated,  visited  America  in  com- 
pany with  Dean  Berkeley. 

The  town  of  Springfield  owes  its  name  to  the  farm  on  which 
the  painter  was  born,  which  was  the  original  settlement  of  his 
maternal  grandfather;  and  in  clearing  the  first  field  a  spring 
of  fine  water  was  discovered,  which  gave  name  to  the  farm, 
and  subsequently  to  the  township.  Thus  is  the  name  of  the 
town  associated  with  West,  and  derived  from  one  of  his 
ancestors. 

The  family  of  West  were  Quakers,  and  emigrated  to  America 
from  England  in  the  year  1699,  but  left  John,  the  father  of 
Benjamin,  at  school  in  the  land  of  his  nativity.  He  did  not 
join  his  relations  until  1714. 

After  having  taken  unto  himself  a  wife,  he  found  it  con- 
venient to  leave  her  with  her  relatives,  while  he  explored  the 
land  of  promise.  During  this  visit  of  pioneering,  his  wife  died 
in  childbed.  The  child  lived,  and  was  adopted  by  its  mother's 
relations,  all  Quakers.  The  father  determined  to  settle  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  wrote  to  have  the  child  sent  to  him.  Those 
who  had  charge  of  the  boy  had  become  attached  to  him,  and 
John  at  length  consented  that  his  first  born  should  remain  in 
England.  As  we  shall  never  again,  probably,  mention  this 
brother  of  the  painter,  we  shall  refer  the  reader  to  his  portrait 
in  the  West  family  picture,  which  has  been  engraved,  where 
he  is  represented  sitting  by  the  side  of  his  venerable  father, 
both  in  Quaker  costume. 

Of  this  family  picture  Mr.  Leslie  in  a  letter  to  us  says : 

"WTien  John  West,  the  father  of  Benjamin,  accompanied 
Miss  Sewell  to  England,  as  the  affianced  bride  of  the  painter, 
the  old  gentleman  met  his  eldest  son,  who  was  a  watchmaker 
settled  at  Reading,  and  at  that  time  forty  years  of  age." 

Benjamin  West,  although  born  in  humble  life,  was  essen- 


MRS.  JAMES  BOWDOIN 

(ELISABETH  ERVING) 

1731-1803 
BY  ROBERT  FEKE 

1748 
From  the  collection  of  Bowdoin  College 


CHILDHOOD  OF  WEST  35 

tially  well-born;  though  not  of  parents  who  by  riches  or  station 
could  insure,  or  even  promote  his  views  of  ambition.  His 
father  a  man  of  sense,  his  mother  affectionate  and  exemplary. 
He  was  not  spoiled  by  indulgence  or  soured  by  thwartings. 
His  natural  inclinations  were  good ;  and  they  were  not  poisoned 
by  bad  education  or  evil  example.  The  most  precious  part 
of  his  education  was  not  intrusted  to  ignorant  and  vicious 
menials;  and  all  who  surrounded  him  were  temperate,  pure, 
and  happy.  The  sordid  sufferings  of  poverty  were  unknown 
to  him,  neither  was  he  pampered  in  the  lap  of  luxury.  As  the 
youngest  child  of  the  family,  he  was  the  favorite  of  his 
parents,  and  equally  so  of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  His  phys- 
ical advantages  were  great  from  nature,  and  the  occupations 
of  rural  life  in  childhood  tended  to  strengthen  and  perfect 
them.  He  was  taught  in  the  school  of  realities.  He  became 
acquainted  with  things  as  they  are.  The  knowledge  which  he 
gained  in  the  school  of  experience  was  not  blasted  by  any 
untoward  circumstances.  His  genius  was  developed  by  the 
friends  his  manners  and  his  virtues  gained  him.  West  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  favored  of  fortune  as  well  as  nature, 
and  to  have  been  so  led  to  the  height  he  attained,  that  men 
might  say  "we  know  not  whether  genius  or  virtue  placed  him 
there."  This  we  know;  vice  or  folly  did  not  counteract  genius. 
It  is  stated  that  before  the  age  of  seven,  Benjamin,  being 
left  in  charge  of  a  child  sleeping  in  a  cradle,  made  his  first 
essay  at  drawing  by  attempting  to  represent  the  infant  on  a 
piece  of  paper  with  pen  and  ink.  However  imperfect  such 
an  attempt  must  have  been,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  if  taken  in 
connexion  with  the  state  of  society  among  Quakers  in  a  vil- 
lage of  the  new  world;  for  it  may  be  supposed  that  those  pic- 
tures which  ornament  books,  and  are  so  attractive  to  children, 
often  stimulating  to  imitation,  would  be  unknown  among  the 
followers  of  Penn  in  the  year  1745,  and  it  is  almost  a  certainty 
that  other  pictures  did  not  exist  in  the  houses  of  these  primi- 
tive people,  although  many  and  good  were  in  various  parts  of 
the  country.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  there  was  an  intuitive 
desire  in  the  individual  to  express  by  lines  the  images  of  things 


36 

as  they  appeared  in  his  eyes.  If  the  child  had  not  seen  any 
prints  or  pictures,  the  circumstance  above  noticed  must  be 
considered  very  extraordinary;  and  even  if  he  had,  the  attempt 
to  draw  from  nature,  at  six  or  seven  years  of  age,  is  an  indi- 
cation of  an  uncommon  observation  of  forms,  and  still  more 
uncommon  quickness,  that  could  lead  to  attempt  their  resem- 
blance on  a  flat  surface. 

The  success  of  the  child's  efforts  excited  the  admiration  of 
his  fond  parents ;  and  their  admiration  encouraged  his  attempts. 
The  consequences  were  that  in  the  Quaker  habitation,  rude 
images  of  flowers  and  birds  and  other  things  which  struck 
the  boy's  fancy  were  stuck  upon  the  walls  and  exhibited  to 
the  neighbors.  We  all  know  that  engravings  and  paintings 
had  been  brought  into  the  colonies  long  before  this  time, 
and  that  painters  had  visited  the  cities  and  plantations,  exer- 
cising their  art;  still  Springfield  probably  had  seen  none  of 
these  wonders  or  wonder-workers,  and  those  of  its  inhabitants 
who  were  natives  of  Europe  had  probably  as  little  knowledge 
of  the  fine  arts  as  the  aborigines.  Among  such  a  population 
the  scratchings  of  little  Ben  would  produce  the  exciting  effect 
which  even  the  admiration  of  ignorance  causes  in  men  as  well 
as  children  at  this  day. 

"I  find,"  says  a  friend,  "on  a  page  of  Pilkington's  'Dic- 
tionary of  Painters,'  this  note,  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr. 
Hamilton,  viz.  'General  Wayne's  father,  who  lived  in  Spring- 
field, Chester  county,  when  B.  West  was  a  lad,  took  a  liking 
to  six  heads  in  chalk  drawn  by  him,  and  presented  him  with 
six  dollars  for  them.  These  chalk  productions  were  among  Mr. 
West's  first  performances,  and  he  was  so  much  pleased  with 
their  producing  so  large  a  price,  as  to  be  thereby  chiefly 
induced  to  adopt  for  his  means  of  support  the  profession  of  a 
painter.  This  anecdote  Mr.  West  told  me  in  London  in  1785, 
and  said  also,  that  he  believed  that  Mr.  Wayne  the  elder  had 
given  the  heads  to  one  of  the  Penrose  family  (in  Philadelphia) 
into  which  a  son  of  Mr.  Wayne  had  married.' ' 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  Benjamin  West's  drawing. 
Of  coloring  he  could  know  nothing;  and  however  much  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

1732-1799 
BY  WILLIAM  WILLIAMS,  1794 

From  the  collection  of  the  Washington  Lodge  of  Matons,  Alexandria,  Va. 


JUVENILE  ESSAYS  IN  ART  37 

tints  of  the  birds,  the  flowers,  the  fields  and  the  skies,  might 
delight  him,  neither  color  nor  coloring  material  was  found 
in  the  houses  of  his  father  or  his  neighbors,  excepting  profane 
indigo  to  tinge  the  starch  of  the  women's  caps  and  kerchiefs 
—  all  else  was  holy  drab. 

Mr.  Lewis,  the  American  biographer  of  West,  says,  that  the 
"colors  he  used  were  charcoal  and  chalk,  mixed  with  the 
juice  of  berries";  and  further,  that  "with  such  colors  laid  on 
with  the  hair  of  a  cat  drawn  through  a  goose  quill,  when  about 
nine  years  of  age  he  drew  on  a  sheet  of  paper  the  portraits  of 
a  neighboring  family,  in  which  the  delineation  of  each  individ- 
ual was  sufficiently  accurate  to  be  immediately  recognized  by 
his  father,  when  the  picture  was  first  shown  to  him.  When 
about  twelve  years  old  he  drew  a  portrait  of  himself,  with  his 
hair  hanging  loosely  about  his  shoulders." 

Fortunately  for  little  Ben  the  children  of  the  forest  who  saw 
no  crime  in  decorating  themselves  in  the  colors  which  deco- 
rated all  around  them,  were  yet  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  pur- 
chasers of  their  land,  and  from  the  Mohawk  or  the  Delaware 
the  boy  procured  the  red  and  yellow  earths  used  by  them  at 
their  toilets.  Mrs.  West's  indigo  pot  supplied  blue,  and  the 
urchin  thus  gained  possession  of  those  primitive  colors  which 
he  afterwards  knew  to  be  the  materials  whose  combined  min- 
glings,  in  their  various  gradations,  give  all  the  tints  of  the 
rainbow. 

Drawing  and  painting  were  thus  introduced  to  the  being 
who  never  ceased  to  cultivate  their  acquaintance;  but  still  he 
had  no  brushes,  and  on  being  told  that  they  could  be  made  by 
inserting  hair  into  a  quill,  West  manufactured  his  first  pencils 
from  the  geese  and  the  cat  of  the  establishment. 

As  West's  English  and  Scotch  biographers  have  an  anec- 
dote related  by  him,  marking  his  early  ambition,  we  must  not 
omit  it. 

"One  of  his  schoolfellows  allured  him  on  a  half -holiday 
from  trap  and  ball,  by  promising  him  a  ride  to  a  neighboring 
plantation.  'Here  is  the  horse,  bridled  and  saddled,'  said 
his  friend,  'so  come,  get  up  behind  me.'  'Behind  you!'  said 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Benjamin;  'I  will  ride  behind  nobody.'  'Oh,  very  well,' 
replied  the  other,  'I  will  ride  behind  you,  so  mount.'  He 
mounted  accordingly,  and  away  they  rode.  'This  is  the  last 
ride  I  shall  have,'  said  his  companion,  'for  some  time.  To- 
morrow I  am  to  be  apprenticed  to  a  tailor.'  'A  tailor!'  ex- 
claimed West;  'you  will  surely  never  be  a  tailor?'  'Indeed, 
but  I  shall,'  replied  the  other;  'it  is  a  good  trade.  What  do 
you  intend  to  be,  Benjamin?'-  -'A  painter.'  'A  painter! 
what  sort  of  a  trade  is  a  painter?  I  never  heard  of  it  before.' 
'A  painter,'  said  this  humble  son  of  a  Philadelphia  Quaker, 
'is  the  companion  of  kings  and  emperors.'  'You  are  surely 
mad,'  said  the  embryo  tailor;  'there  are  neither  kings  nor 
emperors  in  America.'  —  'Ay,  but  there  are  plenty  in  other 
parts  of  the  world.  And  do  you  really  intend  to  be  a  tailor?' 
'Indeed  I  do;  there  is  nothing  surer.'  'Then  you  may  ride 
alone,'  said  the  future  companion  of  kings  and  emperors, 
leaping  down;  'I  will  not  ride  with  one  willing  to  be  a  tailor.'  ' 

When  directing  our  friend  Sully  how  to  find  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born,  the  old  gentleman,  in  describing  the  road, 
pointed  out  the  spot  where  he  abandoned  the  intended 
tailor. 

The  arrival  of  a  merchant  from  Philadelphia,  on  a  visit  to 
the  family,  added  another  link  to  the  chain  which  united  the 
boy  to  the  fine  arts.  Mr.  Pennington,  seeing  the  effects  of 
little  Benjamin's  persevering  efforts,  promised  him  a  box  of 
paints  and  brushes;  and,  on  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  not 
only  performed  his  promise,  but  accompanied  the  materials  for 
painting  with  several  pieces  of  canvas  prepared  for  their 
reception,  and  "six  engravings  by  Grevling." 

The  delight  which  such  a  child  would  feel  at  the  reception 
of  such  a  present,  can  be  better  imagined  than  described.  The 
consequence  was  imitation  of  the  engravings  in  colors  on  the 
canvas,  with  such  success  as  delighted  his  parents,  and  as- 
tonished their  neighbors.  The  result  of  this  boyish  effort  to 
combine  figures  from  engravings,  and  invent  a  system  of  color- 
ing, was  exhibited  sixty-seven  years  afterwards,  in  the  same 
room  with  the  "Christ  Rejected." 


MRS.  HENDRICK  VAN  BEUREN 
(CATHERINE  VAN  VOORHEES) 

1730-1797 
BY  JEREMIAH  THEUS 

From  the  collection  of  Mr.  Frank  Bulkeley  Smith 


EARLY  ENCOURAGEMENT  39 

In  the  building  erected  to  receive  "  The  Healing  in  the 
Temple,"  presented  by  West  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital, 
may  now  (1833)  be  seen  two  of  those  juvenile  performances 
painted  on  panel.  The  largest  is  his  own  composition,  and 
consists  of  a  white  cow,  who  is  the  hero  of  the  piece,  and  sun- 
dry trees,  houses,  men,  and  ships,  combined  in  a  manner  per- 
fectly childish:  the  other  is  a  sea-piece,  copied  from  a  print, 
with  a  perfect  lack  of  skill,  as  might  be  expected. 

Shortly  after  these  first  attempts  to  paint  with  painters' 
materials  and  tools,  the  boy  was  permitted  to  accompany  the 
donor  of  the  treasures  to  the  metropolis  of  Pennsylvania. 
With  Mr.  Pennington  the  youth  resided,  and  after  the  novelty 
of  a  city  had  ceased  to  distract  his  attention,  he  commenced 
his  second  picture  in  oil  coloring,  for  his  friend  and  relative.  At 
this  time  Mr.  Samuel  Shoemaker,  who,  though  a  Quaker,  had 
employed  Mr.  Williams,  an  artist  then  residing  in  the  city,  to 
paint  a  picture  for  him,  desired  the  painter  to  carry  it  to  Mr. 
Pennington's,  that  young  West  might  see  it.  This  is  the  first 
notice  we  have  of  any  oil  painting  being  seen  by  Benjamin, 
save  his  own;  and  his  admiration  of  Williams's  work  was 
similar  to  that  which  his  own  produced  at  Springfield.  Mr. 
Williams  was  interested  in  the  lad,  and  finding  that  his  read- 
ing did  not  extend  beyond  the  Bible,  lent  him  the  works  of 
Fresnoy  and  Richardson,  invited  him  to  see  his  pictures  and 
drawings,  and  may  be  called  the  first  instructor  of  West. 

These  books  West  was  permitted  to  carry  home  when  he 
left  the  city;  and  Fresnoy  and  Richardson  not  only  confirmed 
the  boy's  ambition  to  become  a  painter,  but  to  aspire  to  the 
fellowship  of  kings  and  emperors.  We  have  seen  that  he  would 
not  ride  on  the  same  horse  with  a  schoolmate  who  was  content 
with  the  prospect  of  becoming  a  tailor. 

The  first  money  received  by  West  for  his  works  as  an  artist, 
was  from  Mr.  Wayne,  hi  exchange  for  drawings  made  on  poplar 
boards;  and  Dr.  Jonathan  Morris  made  him  a  present  of  "a 
few  dollars  to  buy  materials  to  paint  with."  At  the  house  of 
Mr.  Flower,  the  boy  first  became  acquainted  with  books  of 
profane  history,  and  from  an  English  lady,  the  governess  of 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Mr.  Flower's  children,  he  received  instruction  from  the 
historians  and  poets  of  his  friend's  library. 

At  Lancaster  he  made  his  first  essay  as  a  painter  of  portraits, 
and,  as  may  be  supposed,  gained  admiration  and  custom.  A 
gunsmith,  of  the  name  of  Henry,  employed  him  to  paint  the 
death  of  Socrates,  an  event  he  had  not  at  the  time  heard  of. 
The  gunsmith  read  the  story  to  him,  and  left  him  the  book, 
and  one  of  the  workmen  stood  as  a  model  for  one  of  the  figures. 
This  led  to  the  study  of  the  human  form,  and  showed  the 
youth  the  importance  of  anatomy  as  connected  with  the  arts 
of  design. 

While  West  was  at  Lancaster,  Dr.  Smith,  provost  of  the 
college  at  Philadelphia,  visited  the  place,  and  seeing  the  result 
of  the  boy's  efforts,  warmly  interested  himself  in  his  welfare. 
He  proposed  to  the  elder  West  to  send  his  son  to  the  capital, 
and  offered  to  instruct  him  in  English  classical  literature. 
This  liberal  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  and  Benjamin  sent  to 
reside  with  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Clarkson,  where  he  pur- 
sued his  studies  and  became  an  associate  of  Francis  Hopkin- 
son,  Thomas  Godfrey,  Jacob  Duche,  and  Joseph  Reid,  then, 
like  himself,  unknown  to  fame.  Of  these  schooldays  West 
makes  incidental  mention  in  a  letter,  when  speaking  of  the 
long-venerated  tree  under  which  Penn  concluded  his  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  —  a  tree  which  the  painter  introduced  into 
his  picture  on  the  subject.  He  says,  "This  tree,  which  was 
held  in  the  highest  veneration  by  the  original  inhabitants  of 
my  native  country  —  by  the  first  settlers  and  by  their  descend- 
ants —  and  which  I  well  remember  about  the  year  1755,  when 
a  boy,  often  resorting  to  it  with  my  schoolfellows  (the  spot 
being  a  favorite  one  for  assembling  in  the  hours  of  leisure), 
was  in  some  danger  during  the  American  war  of  1775,  when  the 
British  possessed  the  country,  from  the  parties  sent  out  in 
search  of  wood  for  firing;  but  the  late  General  Simcoe,  who  had 
the  command  of  the  district  where  it  grew,  from  a  regard  for 
the  character  of  William  Penn,  and  the  interest  which  he  took 
in  the  history  connected  with  the  tree,  ordered  a  guard  of 
British  soldiers  to  protect  it  from  the  axe.  This  circumstance 


APOCRYPHAL  STORIES  41 

the  General  related  to  me,  in  answer  to  my  inquiries  concern- 
ing it  (the  tree),  after  he  returned  to  England."  See  for  this 
letter  of  West's  the  "Memoirs  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  1825,"  p.  97. 

Provost  Smith  directed  West's  studies  with  a  view  to  the 
profession  he  had  chosen;  and  his  reading  of  history  conduced 
most  to  the  attaining  that  knowledge  which  would  be  more 
serviceable  to  the  painter  than  to  the  politician  or  man  of  the 
world.  It  is  said,  that  while  the  son  was  preparing  himself  for 
the  brilliant  career  destined  for  him,  the  father  had  some 
Quaker-qualms  on  the  subject,  and  held  a  consultation  with  the 
wise  men  of  the  Meeting  of  Friends,  which  resulted  in  a  per- 
mission given  contrary  to  the  principles  of  the  sect,  for  the 
youth  to  pursue  the  bent  of  his  inclination,  and  to  administer 
to  those  vanities  their  religious  tenets  told  them  to  eschew  as 
the  snares  of  the  evil  one.  We  must  not  doubt  this  incident, 
given  on  such  authority,  but  the  argumentative  speeches  which 
led  to  this  curious  anti-religious  conclusion  we  may  consider 
in  the  light  of  such  as  might  have  been  suggested  to  the  mind  of 
John  Gait,  rather  than  such  as  were  actually  delivered. 

Mr.  Gait  relates  an  adventurous  enterprise  of  an  elder 
brother  of  Benjamin  West,  and  Cunningham  transcribes  it 
from  Gait,  and  substitutes  Benjamin  for  his  brother  as  the 
military  hero  of  the  story.  He  says, 

"Being  now  left  more  to  the  freedom  of  his  own  will,  West 
deviated  into  a  course  not  at  all  professional,  but  for  which 
the  accommodating  eloquence  of  a  John  Williamson  might 
have  conceived  a  ready  apology.  He  became  a  soldier.  The 
Friends  had  not  included  this  among  those  pure  and  pious 
pursuits  which  they  ascribed  to  the  future  painter  of  history; 
they  expressed,  however,  neither  surprise  nor  sorrow  for  this 
backsliding  in  Benjamin,  nor  did  they  either  admonish  or  re- 
monstrate. He  took  up  a  musket  —  inspired  with  his  enthu- 
siasm young  Wayne,  afterward  a  distinguished  officer  —  and 
joining  the  troops  of  General  Forbes,  proceeded  in  search  of 
the  relics  of  that  gallant  army  lost  in  the  desert  by  the  unfortu- 
nate General  Braddock. 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"To  West  and  his  companions  were  added  a  select  body  of 
Indians;  these  again  were  accompanied  by  several  officers  of 
the  Old  Highland  Watch  —  the  well-known  forty-second,  com- 
manded by  the  most  anxious  person  of  the  whole  detachment, 
Major  Sir  Peter  Halket,  who  had  lost  his  father  and  brother 
in  that  unhappy  expedition.  Though  many  months  had 
elapsed  since  the  battle,  and  though  time,  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  wild  men  more  savage  than  they, 
had  done  their  worst,  Halket  was  not  without  hopes  of  finding 
the  remains  of  his  father  and  his  brother,  as  an  Indian  warrior 
assured  him  that  he  had  seen  an  elderly  officer  drop  dead  be- 
neath a  large  and  remarkable  tree,  and  a  young  subaltern, 
who  hastened  to  his  aid,  fall  mortally  wounded  across  the  body. 
After  a  long  march  through  the  woods,  they  approached  the 
fatal  valley.  They  were  affected  at  seeing  the  bones  of  men, 
who,  escaping  wounded  from  invisible  enemies,  had  sunk  down 
and  expired  as  they  leaned  against  the  trees,  and  they  were 
shocked  to  see  in  other  places  the  relics  of  their  countrymen 
mingled  with  the  ashes  of  the  savage  bivouacs. 

"When  they  reached  the  principal  scene  of  destruction,  the 
Indian  guide  looked  anxiously  round,  darted  into  the  wood, 
and  in  a  few  seconds  raised  a  shrill  cry.  Halket  and  West 
hastened  to  the  place  —  the  Indian  pointed  out  the  tree  —  a 
circle  of  soldiers  was  drawn  round  it,  while  others  removed  the 
leaves  of  the  forest  which  had  fallen  since  the  fight.  They 
found  two  skeletons  —  one  lying  across  the  other  —  Halket 
looked  at  the  skulls,  said,  faintly,  'It  is  my  father!'  and 
dropped  senseless  in  the  arms  of  his  companions.  On  recov- 
ering, he  said,  'I  know  who  it  is  by  that  artificial  tooth.' 
They  dug  a  grave  in  the  desert,  covered  the  bones  with  a 
Highland  plaid,  and  interred  them  reverently.  This  scene, 
at  once  picturesque  and  pious,  made  a  lasting  impression  on 
the  artist's  mind.  After  he  had  painted  the  *  Death  of  Wolfe,' 
he  proposed  the  finding  of  the  bones  of  the  Halkets,  as  an  his- 
torical subject;  and,  describing  to  Lord  Grosvenor  the  gloomy 
wood,  the  wild  Indians,  the  passionate  grief  of  the  son,  and 
the  sympathy  of  his  companions,  said,  he  conceived  it  would 


BEXJAMIN   WEST 

1738-1820 
BY  MATTHEW  PRATT 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Acmlem  y  of  Fine  Arts 


HOME-LEAVING  43 

form  a  picture  full  of  dignity  and  sentiment.  His  lordship 
thought  otherwise.  The  subject  which  genius  chooses  for 
itself  is,  however,  in  most  cases,  the  best.  The  sober  imagina- 
tion of  West  had  here  a  twofold  excitement  —  he  had  witnessed 
the  scene,  and  it  was  American  —  and  had  Lord  Grosvenor 
encouraged  him  to  embody  his  conception,  the  result  would,  I 
doubt  not,  have  been  a  worthy  companion  to  the  *  Death  of 
Wolfe.'  ' 

Now,  as  far  as  the  painter  is  concerned,  the  story  is  pure 
fiction.  And  as  a  subject,  for  historical  composition,  it  is 
utterly  unworthy  of  being  classed  with  the  Battle  of  Quebec, 
on  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  The  one,  though  picturesque  and 
pathetic,  is  a  private  event,  and  without  consequences;  the 
other,  one  of  the  most  influential  causes  of  mighty  effects 
which  the  world  has  known.  The  victory  gained  by  Wolfe, 
annihilated  the  power  of  France  on  this  continent,  and  estab- 
lished reformed  religion,  English  language,  arts  and  literature, 
and  more  than  English  liberty  from  Mexico  to  the  north 
pole,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

In  the  year  1756  the  mother  of  the  young  painter  died,  and 
in  August  of  that  year  he  took  his  leave  of  Springfield,  and 
went  again  to  reside  in  Philadelphia,  under  the  roof  of  his 
brother-in-law.  He  now  had  full  employment  as  a  portrait- 
painter,  and  gained  a  portion  of  that  facility  of  execution 
which  was  remarkable  in  his  after  life.  He  enjoyed  still  the 
instruction  of  Dr.  Smith,  and  while  his  days  were  devoted  to 
his  easel,  his  evenings  were  probably  employed  in  listening  to 
his  preceptor,  or  reading  the  books  he  pointed  out  for  his  pe- 
rusal. As  his  mind  strengthened,  and  the  powers  of  discrimi- 
nation increased  —  as  his  eyes  became  open  to  the  beauties  of 
nature,  and  his  power  of  imitating  those  beauties  increased,  the 
perception  of  his  deficiencies  likewise  increased,  with  the  ardent 
desire  to  examine  the  wonders  of  art  which  could  at  that  time 
only  be  seen  by  visiting  Italy.  This  desire  stimulated  the  in- 
dustry, and  added  to  the  self-denying  frugality  of  the  virtuous 
and  gifted  youth.  He  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
product  of  his  industry  would  enable  him  to  transport  himself 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

to  the  land  of  his  wishes,  the  land  of  the  fine  arts.  Such  pic- 
tures as  had  been  brought  to  the  provinces,  and  fell  within  the 
limited  range  of  the  boy's  observation,  while  they  added  to 
his  knowledge  of  the  art,  added  tenfold  to  his  anxiety  for  the 
time  to  arrive  when  he  could  drink  at  the  fountain  from  which 
these  scanty  streams  were  derived.  Governor  Hamilton  had  a 
collection  of  pictures  which  were  placed  at  West's  disposal  as 
objects  of  study,  and  among  them  a  Murillo  which  had  been 
captured  in  a  Spanish  prize.  This  picture,  a  St.  Ignatius,  was 
copied  by  the  youth,  and  added  to  his  reputation  and  his  skill. 
Dr.  Smith  suggested  the  idea  of  combining  historical  and  por- 
trait painting,  and  West  painted  the  provost  in  the  attitude 
and  style  of  St.  Ignatius.  This  is  a  false  taste.  Every  por- 
trait ought  to  convey  a  portion  of  the  history  of  its  own  times. 
The  value  of  the  portraits  of  Van  Dyck  and  Reynolds,  is  in- 
creased by  the  knowledge  they  convey  of  the  costume  and 
manners  of  the  time  at  which  they  were  painted;  and  a  grocer 
of  Thames  Street  as  a  Caesar  or  Hector  —  or  a  doctor  of  divin- 
ity as  a  martyr  or  saint,  may  cause  the  admiration  and  con- 
found the  ideas  of  the  ignorant,  but  can  only  excite  the  ridicule 
of  the  well-informed  beholder.  All  this  practice  tended  to 
improve  the  young  artist  and  extend  his  fame.  Mr.  Cox  em- 
ployed him  to  paint  an  historical  picture.  "  The  Trial  of  Susan- 
nah "  was  the  subject  chosen  and  executed.  Mr.  Gait  says,  "it 
is  not  known  what  has  become  of  this  picture."  It  is,  how- 
ever, known  to  us,  and  although  the  artist  in  his  old  age  had 
forgotten  the  circumstances  attending  the  composition,  and 
the  assistance  he  received  therein,  it  appears  that  he  made 
ample  use  of  a  print  on  the  subject,  which  had  fallen  in  his  way. 
At  this  time  the  remuneration  of  West  for  his  portraits  was 
two  guineas  and  a  half  for  a  head,  and  five  for  a  half-length. 
He  visited  New  York  with  a  view  to  the  increase  of  his  prices, 
that  the  object  for  which  he  desired  money  might  the  sooner  be 
placed  within  his  grasp  —  improvement.  In  New  York  he 
painted  many  portraits,  but  few  have  been  preserved  from 
those  tombs  of  the  Capulets  destined  for  the  works  of  the  mass 
of  painters  —  the  nursery,  where  urchins  set  them  up  as  marks 


EARLY  PORTRAITS  45 

for  their  puny  archery;  or  the  garret,  where  cats  litter  among 
the  satins  of  our  grandmothers,  or  mice  feast  on  the  well 
powdered  wigs  of  our  grandsires.  Some  three  or  four  of  West's 
immortal  works  of  this  date,  may  be  found  in  America,  by 
industry,  perseverance  and  much  labor,  and  when  found  can 
scarcely  be  seen  through  a  mass  of  dinginess,  or  will  be  found 
defaced  by  careful  scouring,  with  here  and  there  a  hole,  patched 
or  unpatched,  received  in  a  May-day  moving,  or  while  exposed 
to  the  incidents  of  the  cock-loft. 

In  our  researches  we  were  directed,  by  the  honorable  Ed- 
mund Pendleton,  to  a  portrait  of  one  of  his  maternal  ancestors, 
Mrs.  Dinah  Bard  (born  Marmion),  which  we  found  at  Tren- 
ton, New  Jersey,  at  the  residence  of  one  of  her  descendents, 
Mr.  Charles  Fraser.  This  picture  was  painted  in  a  style  which 
justifies  in  part  the  eulogiums  recorded  by  Gait,  as  bestowed 
upon  West's  first  head  finished  in  Rome.  It  had  been  firmly 
painted  and  well  drawn,  and  the  drapery  carefully  made  out; 
but  it  is  injured  by  time,  and  had  received  two  bullets  or  bay- 
onet wounds  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  which  had  never 
been  cured,  though  patched  up.  Her  husband's  portrait 
(Peter  Bard,  Esq.)  is  returned  "missing."  There  are  older 
portraits  in  Mr.  Eraser's  house  by  other  hands,  —  no  trace  of 
the  artist's  name  remaining,  and  nothing  in  the  work  indicating 
a  name  worth  preserving. 

We  found  at  Germantown  a  portrait  painted  in  West's 
youth,  of  a  gentleman  of  the  Morris  family.  This  was  in 
better  preservation  than  the  above,  and  a  still  better  picture. 
Judicious  cleaning  and  lining  would  preserve  it,  and  it  is  well 
worth  preserving. 

The  young  painter  pursued  his  professional  labors  eleven 
months  in  New  York,  at  prices  double  those  he  received  in 
Philadelphia,  and  had  accumulated  nearly  enough,  by  his  in- 
dustry, to  waft  him  to  the  "land  where  the  orange  trees 
bloom,"  and  where  the  fine  arts  have  left  a  lasting  impression 
of  the  time  they  did  flourish,  when  he  heard  that  a  ship  was 
about  to  sail  from  his  own  homely  country  to  carry  food  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Italy,  who  have  in  modern  as  well  as  ancient 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

times  been  more  abounding  in  marbles  than  bread.  Mr.  Allen, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  loading  a  ship  with  flour  for  Leghorn, 
and  West,  who  was  painting  the  picture  of  Mr.  Kelly,  of  New 
York,  when  he  heard  the  news,  mentioned  it  to  his  sitter,  with 
his  intention  to  take  advantage  of  this  extraordinary  occur- 
rence. Kelly's  portrait  being  finished,  and  the  ten  guineas 
paid  for  it,  he  gave  a  letter  in  charge  to  the  painter  for  his 
agents  in  Philadelphia,  which,  on  delivery,  proved  an  order 
for  fifty  guineas,  to  assist  the  youth  in  his  projected  journey 
and  intended  studies  abroad.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Allen  had 
determined  that  his  son  should  have  the  benefit  of  travel,  by 
accompanying  the  flour;  and  West's  invaluable  friend,  Provost 
Smith,  had  obtained  permission  for  the  young  painter  to  ac- 
company the  young  merchant.  Thus  everything  seemed  to 
conspire  for  the  furtherance  of  the  youth's  advancement  in  the 
road  to  wealth  and  honor.  He  found  friends  eager  to  assist 
him  at  every  step.  Was  it  not  because  it  was  seen  by  all  that 
every  step  was  in  the  right  path  —  that  his  mind  was  as  deeply 
imbued  with  the  love  of  virtue  as  with  the  love  of  his  art? 
Such  was  the  character  of  West  through  life;  and  through 
life  his  success  was  uniform.  He  met  in  his  way  false  friends, 
detractors  and  libellers,  but  he  never  turned  aside;  and  as  he 
approached  that  height  at  which  he  aimed  from  childhood,  the 
hands  of  those  who  had  attained  or  had  been  seated  on  the 
high  places  in  his  upward  way,  were  stretched  forth  to  wel- 
come him.  We  see  the  undeviating  tribute  paid  to  worth  and 
genius  in  its  ascending  progress,  whether  in  the  homely  en- 
couragement given  by  Henry  the  gunsmith,  of  Lancaster,  the 
refined  and  well-directed  friendship  of  Provost  Smith,  the 
frank  liberality  of  the  merchants  Kelly  and  Allen,  the  enlight- 
ened admiration  of  the  men  of  fortune  who  received  him  with 
open  arms  at  Rome,  as  we  have  yet  to  mention,  and  finally  in 
the  smiles  of  the  nobles  and  the  sovereign  of  England,  who 
hailed  his  arrival  with  joy  in  the  land  of  his  fathers. 

Mr.  West,  in  the  reminiscences  communicated  to  his  biog- 
rapher, mentions,  that  while  he  was  waiting  for  the  sailing  of 
the  ship,  which  was  to  bear  him  to  the  land  he  longed  to  see, 


THE  AMERICAN  QUAKER  IN  ROME  47 

he  again  met  his  friend  Henry  the  gunsmith,  and  the  artist's 
grateful  recollections  of  this  man  is  in  common  with  his  pure 
and  virtuous  character.  Henry  had  introduced  him  to  his  first 
knowledge  of  history,  by  lending  him  Plutarch,  and  excited 
him  to  attempt  his  first  historical  picture  by  employing  him, 
and  aiding  him  to  paint  the  death  of  Socrates,  in  the  year 
1759. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  Benjamin  West  embarked  with 
young  Allen,  and  soon  arrived  at  Gibraltar,  where  the  ship 
stopped  for  convoy.  Captain  Kearny,  commanding  the  ships 
of  war  on  the  station,  was  a  friend  of  young  Allen's  father,  and 
the  young  man,  with  his  companion,  being  invited  to  dine  on 
board  his  ship,  West  was  introduced  favorably  to  the  officers, 
with  whom  he  proceeded  up  the  Mediterranean.  Messrs. 
Rutherford  and  Jackson  were  the  correspondents  of  Mr.  Allen, 
and  the  young  painter,  having  delivered  his  credentials  to  them 
at  Leghorn,  was  furnished  with  letters  to  Cardinal  Albani  and 
other  distinguished  characters  at  Rome.  Under  these  favorable 
auspices  the  Quaker  painter  proceeded  on  his  journey  in 
charge  of  a  French  courier,  who  had  been  engaged  by  his 
Leghorn  friends  as  his  guide  and  interpreter,  and  gained  his 
first  view  of  the  immortal  city  from  a  height  at  eight  miles  dis- 
tance. It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  impression  such  a  prospect, 
and  its  attendant  anticipations,  would  make  upon  an  American 
youth  of  that  day,  and  it  is  much  safer  to  leave  the  subject  to 
the  imagination  of  the  reader  than  to  obtrude  upon  him  the 
surmises  of  the  writer.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  unsophisti- 
cated Yankee  arrived  safe  at  the  great  metropolis,  and  was 
introduced  to  the  remains  of  her  ancient  taste  and  splendor, 
scarcely  more  the  object  of  his  admiration,  than  he  was  of  at- 
tention to  the  nobles  of  Italy,  and  the  illustrious  strangers 
with  whom  the  city  swarmed.  An  American  had  come  to 
study  painting,  and  that  American  a  Quaker!  This  was  a 
matter  of  astonishment,  and  when  it  was  found  that  the  young 
man  was  neither  black  nor  a  savage,  but  fair,  intelligent,  and 
already  a  painter,  West  became  emphatically  the  lion  of  the 
day  in  Rome. 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

It  was  on  the  10th  of  July,  1760,  that  the  French  courier 
deposited  the  youth  at  an  hotel  in  the  great  city,  and  spread 
the  strange  story  abroad  that  a  Quaker  and  an  American  had 
come  to  study  the  fine  arts  in  Italy;  this  appeared  so  extraor- 
dinary to  an  English  gentleman,  Mr.  Robinson,  that  he  imme- 
diately sought  him,  and  insisted  on  his  dining  with  him.  The 
letters  brought  by  West  proved  to  be  for  Mr.  Robinson's 
friends,  and  the  artist  had  the  advantage  of  an  immediate 
introduction  to  the  best  society  of  Rome. 

At  the  house  of  Mr.  Crespigne  he  was  presented  to  Cardi- 
nal Albani,  who  although  blind,  "had  acquired,  by  the  ex- 
quisite delicacy  of  his  touch,  and  the  combining  powers  of  his 
mind,"  we  quote  Mr.  Gait,  "such  a  sense  of  ancient  beauty, 
that  he  excelled  all  the  virtuosi  of  Rome  in  the  correctness  of 
his  knowledge  of  the  verity  and  peculiarities  of  the  smallest 
medals  and  intaglios."  To  this  virtuoso  Mr.  Robinson  intro- 
duced the  Quaker  as  "a  young  American,  who  had  come  to 
Italy  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  fine  arts";  and  the  query 
of  the  cardinal  was,  "Is  he  black  or  white?" 

West,  among  the  many  advantages  derived  from  nature, 
possessed  a  fine  form,  and  a  face  as  fair  as  artists  paint  angels, 
or  lovers  their  mistresses.  At  the  age  of  fifty  he  was  remark- 
able for  comeliness;  and  it  is  presumed  that  at  the  period  of 
which  we  treat,  his  appearance  must  have  been  very  prepos- 
sessing, and  not  the  less  for  the  flowing  locks  and  simple  attire 
of  his  sect.  The  cardinal  being  satisfied  that  the  painter  was 
as  white  as  himself  (that  being  his  next  inquiry),  received  him 
graciously,  examined  his  face  and  head,  with  his  fingers,  ex- 
pressed his  admiration,  and  made  up  a  party  to  witness  the 
impression  which  the  sight  of  the  chef  d'ceuvres  of  antiquity, 
would  make  upon  a  native  of  the  new  world.  The  Apollo 
was  first  shown  him,  and  his  exclamation  was,  "How  like  a 
young  Mohawk  warrior!" 

The  Italians,  on  having  the  words  translated  by  Mr.  Robin- 
son, were  mortified,  but  when  West,  at  that  gentleman's 
request,  described  the  Mohawk  in  his  state  of  native  freedom, 
as  seen  in  those  days,  his  speed,  his  vigor,  his  exercise  with 


THOMAS   MIFFLIN 

1744  —  1800 
BY  BENJAMIN  WEST 

From  the  collection  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


AN  ITALIAN  IMPROVISATOR  49 

the  bow,  —  when  Mr.  Robinson  interpreted  the  words,  "I 
have  seen  a  Mohawk  standing  in  that  very  attitude,  intensely 
pursuing  with  his  eye  the  flight  of  the  arrow  just  discharged 
from  the  bow,"  his  auditory  were  delighted  by  the  criticism  of 
the  stranger,  and  applauded  his  untutored  acumen. 

Gait  tells  a  story  very  seriously  of  an  Italian  improvisatore 
and  his  rodomontade  about  America  and  West,  which  Cun- 
ningham treats  as  a  quiz  upon  the  young  Quaker  painter.  We 
had  the  story  from  another  source  many  years  ago,  and  pub- 
lished it  in  a  short-lived  periodical  which  we  then  called  "The 
Monthly  Recorder."  (See  No.  3,  p.  172.) 

"  The  following  anecdote  is  related  by  an  American  traveller 
who,  calling  to  see  Mr.  West,  found  him  in  conversation  with 
an  Italian  gentleman  on  the  subject  of  the  improvisator!,  and 
is  one  among  the  many  thousand  instances  of  the  profound 
ignorance  in  which  Europeans  generally  remain  respecting 
this  country.  While  we,  as  descendants  from  one  of  the 
proudest  and  most  enlightened  nations  of  the  world,  enjoy- 
ing their  institutions,  and  improving  upon  their  improvements, 
know  and  feel  our  high  standing  in  society;  we  see  a  vagabond 
Italian  rhymster  treating  us  as  savages,  and  looking  forward 
to  our  future  illumination  as  the  effects  of  a  ray  from  the  sun 
of  science  blazing  in  modern  Rome.  We  give  it  in  the  words 
of  the  writer,  in  a  letter  to  his  friends. 

"'There  was  an  Italian  gentlemen  with  him,  to  whom  he 
was  talking  about  the  improvisatori,  or  itinerant  poets,  who 
recite  verses  extempore.  Mr.  West  said  that  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  Rome,  while  he  was  sitting  in  the  English  coffee- 
house, with  an  American  gentleman,  one  of  these  poets,  who 
was  very  celebrated  at  that  time,  and  went  by  the  name  of 
Homer,  came  in,  and  walking  up  to  Mr.  West's  friend,  who 
knew  him,  requested  him  to  give  him  a  subject,  as  was  cus- 
tomary. The  gentleman  said  he  had  a  new  subject  for  him  — 
there,  said  he,  is  a  young  American,  arrived  in  Rome  to  study 
the  fine  arts  (for  Mr.  West  was  the  first  of  our  countrymen 
who  had  gone  there  for  such  a  purpose).  The  improvisatore 
proceeded  to  prepare  himself  for  his  task,  and  sitting  directly 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

opposite  to  Mr.  West,  began  tuning  his  guitar,  which  was  an 
enormous  one,  bending  his  body  from  side  to  side  until  he 
worked  himself  (as  Mr.  West  said)  in  perfect  tune  with  the 
instrument;  he  then  began  his  poem,  and  described  the  Al- 
mighty as  having  determined  to  enlighten  those  nations  of  the 
world  that  were  yet  in  darkness.  For  this  purpose  he  had 
sent  out  an  Italian  (Americus  Vespucius)  to  civilize  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  establish  manufactures,  useful  arts,  etc.,  on  the 
vast  continent  of  America.  That  when  civilization  had  con- 
siderably advanced  through  succeeding  ages,  God  shed  a  ray 
of  divine  light  upon  genius,  which  before  was  but  a  dormant 
material  there;  it  instantly  kindled  and  lighted  up  a  flame  in 
the  breast  of  this  young  savage  (Mr.  West)  while  a  guiding 
star  appeared  to  direct  his  steps  to  Italy,  to  seek  for  improve- 
ment —  he  had  followed  it  until  it  had  led  him  to  Rome.  Here 
the  poet  entered  into  a  warm  eulogium  on  his  native  country, 
and  the  treasures  of  art  it  possessed;  and  concluded  by 
prophesying  that  the  young  savage  should  be  the  first  to  trans- 
plant the  arts  to  America,  and  that  in  time  she  would  become 
the  greatest  nation  on  earth.' ' 

We  presume  this  is  no  uncommon  way  for  the  pauper-poet 
to  put  a  little  coin  in  his  pocket.  West,  of  course,  could  not 
understand  him,  and  West's  companion  gave  him  a  trifle  as  a 
compensation  for  his  flattery.  Mr.  Leslie,  in  one  of  his  letters 
to  us,  gives  the  story  of  the  blind  cardinal  immediately  from 
West.  "You  recollect  that  Mr.  West's  complexion  was  re- 
markably fair;  even  in  extreme  old  age  it  was  so.  He  was  a 
very  handsome  old  man.  He  told  me  that  soon  after  his  ar- 
rival in  Italy  he  was  introduced  to  a  cardinal  who  was  blind. 
His  reverence  was  accustomed  to  pass  his  hand  over  the  faces 
of  strangers  who  were  presented  to  him,  in  order  to  judge  of 
their  countenances.  On  doing  so  to  Mr.  West,  he  said,  'This 
young  savage  has  very  good  features,  but  what  is  his  com- 
plexion?' The  reply  was  that  it  was  fair.  'WTiat,'  said  the 
cardinal,  with  astonishment,  'as  fair  as  I  am?'  Mr.  West 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  to  refrain  from  laughing,  for  the 
cardinal's  complexion  was  of  the  darkest  brown  of  Italy,  and 


NOVEL  SCENES  51 

possibly   some   shades   darker  than  many  of  the  American 
Indians." 

The  effect  produced  by  the  works  of  art  in  pictures  or  statues, 
by  the  palaces  and  churches,  by  the  splendor  of  social  inter- 
course or  of  religious  ceremonies,  upon  a  youth  from  our 
country  at  that  time,  can  hardly  be  conceived  by  us  at  this 
day.  We  have  our  galleries  of  paintings  and  statues,  our 
marble  domes  and  column-faced  temples,  erected  to  luxury, 
wealth  and  religion;  and  the  Quaker  boy  who  now  leaves 
America  may  be  familiar  with  the  pomp  of  papal  ceremonies, 
and  the  overpowering  excellence  of  Italian  music,  so  far  as 
not  to  be  astounded  by  the  novelty  of  the  objects  which  will 
meet  his  view  in  Europe.  Upon  such  a  youth  as  Benjamin 
West,  new  from  such  a  country  as  this  then  was,  the  effect  of 
such  objects  must  be  left  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 
"But  neither  the  Apollo,  the  Vatican,  or  the  pomp  of  the 
Catholic  ritual"  made  such  an  impression  on  the  American 
youth,  or  excited  his  feelings  to  so  great  a  degree,  as  the  spec- 
tacle of  poverty,  nakedness,  filth  and  disease,  which  met  his 
eye  at  every  turn,  and  the  cries  for  relief  urged  in  the  names 
he  had  in  his  own  happy  country  only  heard  in  the  prayers  of 
the  sanctuary.  The  contrast  which  such  scenes  present  between 
American  and  European  society,  happily,  for  one  party,  may 
appear  as  striking  now  as  in  the  time  of  the  first  visit  of  a 
painter  from  the  new  to  the  old  world. 

It  is  related  by  Mr.  Gait  that  West's  first  specimen  of  paint- 
ing in  Europe,  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Robinson,  was  said  to  be 
better  colored  than  the  works  of  Mengs,  at  that  time  the 
greatest  painter  in  Rome,  and  that  the  young  American  was 
pronounced  the  second  in  rank  in  that  capital.  This  asser- 
tion does  not  accord  with  the  fact  that  few  of  West's  pictures 
previous  to  that  time  appear  to  have  merited  preservation. 
Many  of  Copley's  works  painted  before  he  left  his  country  are 
yet  to  be  seen  and  admired.  We  have  been  obliged  to  search 
diligently  for  any  specimen  of  West's  portrait  painting  before 
he  left  America,  and  when  we  have  found  it,  it  has  hardly  been 
worth  the  search.  This,  however,  we  can  say,  that  we  have 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

found  none  better  among  the  works  of  his  predecessors.  They 
are  not  such  as  we  should  expect  would  rival  Mengs  in  coloring 
or  anything  else;  we  have  previously  mentioned  those  of  Mr. 
Bard  and  Mr.  Morris,  and  we  may  not  have  seen  the  best 
he  painted  at  that  early  period.  On  the  other  hand,  we  know 
that  West  during  the  four  years  he  passed  in  Italy,  painted 
pictures  which  gained  him  academical  honors,  and  the  applause 
of  the  public;  we  know  that  his  copy  of  Corregio's  "  St. 
Jerome,"  executed  at  Parma,  is  a  perfect  specimen  of  color- 
ing; and  we  know  that  on  his  arrival  in  England  he  took  his 
stand  immediately  as  the  first  historical  painter  in  the  kingdom. 

Mengs1  and  Pompeo  Battoni  were  at  this  period  the  great 
painters  of  Rome.  Of  the  latter,  in  connection  with  our  sub- 
ject we  have  been  favored  with  the  following  from  Mr.  Allston, 
as  related  to  him  by  Mr.  West.  "Battoni  was  at  that  time 
'in  full  flower,'  dividing  the  empire  of  art  with  Mengs.  He 
received  Mr.  West  very  graciously  in  his  painting  room,  and 
after  some  questions  respecting  his  country,  concerning  which 
he  seemed  to  have  had  no  very  distinct  notion, —  said  '  And  so, 
young  man,  you  have  come  —  how  far  is  it?'  'Three  thousand 
miles.'  'Ay,  three  thousand  miles  from  the  woods  of  America 
to  become  a  painter!  You  are  very  fortunate  in  coming  to 
Rome  at  this  time,  for  now  you  shall  see  Battoni  paint.'  He 
thereupon  proceeded  with  his  work  then  in  hand,  a  picture  of 
the  Madonna;  occasionally  exclaiming,  as  he  stepped  back,  to 
see  the  effect,  '  e  viva  Battoni! ' ; 

Mengs  very  liberally  applauded  the  effort  of  the  young 
artist,  which  had  been  compared  to  his  own  masterly  produc- 
tions, and  traced  out  a  plan  for  his  studies  and  travel.  "See 
and  examine  everything  deserving  of  your  attention  here,  and 
after  making  a  few  drawings  of  about  half  a  dozen  of  the  best 
statues,  go  to  Florence,  and  observe  what  has  been  done  for 
art  in  the  collections  there.  Then  proceed  to  Bologna,  and 
study  the  works  of  the  Caracci;  afterwards  visit  Parma,  and 
examine  attentively  the  pictures  of  Corregio;  and  then  go  to 
Venice,  and  view  the  productions  of  Tintoretto,  Titian  and 

1  Anton  Rafael  Mengs. 


ROMAN  FEVER  53 

Paul  Veronese.  When  you  have  made  this  tour,  come  back 
to  Rome,  and  paint  an  historical  composition  to  be  exhibited 
to  the  Roman  public." 

The  excitements  of  Rome  produced  fever,  and  before  West 
could  avail  himself  of  this  judicious  advice,  his  friends  and 
physicians  advised  a  return  to  Leghorn  for  the  restoration  of 
health.  Here  he  was  received  into  the  hospitable  mansion  of 
Messrs.  Rutherford  and  Jackson,  and  by  their  care,  recovered 
so  far  as  to  return  to  his  studies  in  Rome,  but  was  soon 
again  forced  by  a  relapse  to  fly  once  more  to  Leghorn,  when 
the  fever  left  him  with  an  affection  of  the  ankle,  which 
threatened  the  loss  of  the  limb.  His  constant  friends  Jackson 
and  Rutherford  sent  him  to  Florence,  and  placed  him  under 
the  care  of  a  celebrated  surgeon,  who  produced  a  radical  cure, 
after  a  confinement  of  eleven  months. 

Even  during  this  season  of  pain  and  disease,  the  artist  pur- 
sued his  studies,  and  was  encouraged  by  the  attentions  of  men 
of  taste  and  influence,  both  natives  and  travellers.  When 
recovered  so  as  to  bear  the  fatigues  of  travelling,  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  obtain  as  a  companion  on  the  tour  recom- 
mended by  Mengs,  a  man  of  extraordinary  accomplishments 
and  acquirements.  A  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Matthews, 
connected  with  Messrs.  Rutherford  and  Jackson,  visited  Flor- 
ence and  agreed  to  accompany  the  young  painter  in  his  visit 
to  the  most  celebrated  repositories  of  Italian  art. 

In  the  meantime,  that  good  fortune  which  attended  West's 
conduct  throughout  life,  was  operating  in  his  favor  on  the  shores 
of  the  western  world.  The  applause  bestowed  on  the  portrait 
of  Mr.  Robinson,  was  mentioned  in  a  letter  from  Rutherford 
and  Jackson  to  Mr.  Allen,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  letter  read 
by  him  to  an  assemblage  of  gentlemen  at  his  dinner  table, 
among  whom  was  Governor  Hamilton.  Allen  mentioned  the 
sum  deposited  with  him,  by  West  before  his  departure,  adding, 
"as  it  must  be  much  reduced,  he  shall  not  be  frustrated  in 
his  studies  for  want  of  money:  I  will  write  to  my  corrhspon- 
dents  to  furnish  him  with  whatever  he  may  require."  This 
generous  declaration  produced  a  demand  from  the  governor, 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

that  "he  should  be  considered  as  joining  in  the  responsibility 
of  the  credit."  The  consequence  was,  that  while  West  was 
waiting  at  Florence  for  the  sum  of  ten  pounds  for  which  he  had 
written  to  his  friends  at  Leghorn,  he  received  notice  from  their 
bankers  that  they  were  instructed  to  give  him  unlimited  credit. 

It  is  not  always  that  talents,  when  backed  by  good  conduct, 
produce  such  effects  upon  mankind;  and  some  may  perhaps 
exclaim,  "Surely  mankind  are  less  inclined  to  obey  the  gener- 
ous impulses  of  nature  now,  than  they  were  a  century  ago." 
But  it  is  not  so.  Talents  ever  command  admiration,  and 
good  conduct  solicits  good  will.  But  both  or  either  may  be 
obscured  by  circumstances.  They  may  exist  separately,  and 
not  be  deserving  of  friendship.  They  may  be  united,  and  their 
effect  destroyed  by  personal  defect  in  the  possessor,  timidity, 
false  shame,  false  pride  or  excessive  sensitiveness  —  and  as 
far  as  these  defects  have  influence,  the  effects  of  good  con- 
duct are  weakened,  obscured  or  destroyed.  West  had  talents, 
virtue,  youth,  beauty,  and  prudence.  He  appears  to  have 
possessed  no  quality  to  counteract  their  influence,  and  cir- 
cumstances independent  of  his  own  good  qualities  seemed  uni- 
formly to  favor  his  progress. 

From  Florence  Mr.  West  proceeded  to  Bologna,  and  after 
inspecting  the  works  of  art,  he  went  on  to  Venice.  Here  the 
style  and  coloring  of  Titian  were  his  principal  study.  After 
completing  the  tour  recommended  by  Mengs,  he  returned  to 
Rome,  and  pursued  his  studies  again  in  that  great  centre  of 
taste.  He  at  this  time  painted  his  pictures  of  Cimon  and 
Iphigenia,  and  Angelica  and  Medora.  These  established  his 
reputation  as  an  historical  painter,  and  obtained  him  the  aca- 
demical honors  of  Rome. 

By  the  advice  of  his  father  he  determined  to  visit  England 
before  returning  home,  and  again  he  had  the  advantage  of 
travelling  with  a  man  of  taste  and  refinement,  Dr.  Patoune, 
who  was  returning  to  Great  Britain.  The  doctor  proceeded 
to  Florence,  while  the  painter  went  to  take  leave  of  his  friends 
at  Leghorn.  The  travellers  afterwards  stopped  at  Parma, 
while  West  finished  his  copy  of  "St.  Jerome."  This  beautiful 


CONTINENTAL  GALLERIES  55 

picture  is  in  the  possession  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Allen,  one  of 
the  painter's  earliest  friends,  and  in  America.  Here  again  the 
novelty  of  an  American  Quaker  painter  procured  him  the  atten- 
tion of  the  great;  and  the  Friend  kept  on  his  broad  brim  when 
introduced  to  the  court  of  Parma,  very  much  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  prince  and  his  courtiers  —  perhaps  not  a  little  to 
their  amusement. 

Genoa  and  Turin  were  taken  in  the  route  to  France,  and 
the  peace  of  1763  having  been  but  lately  concluded,  the  travel- 
lers as  Englishmen,  were  only  protected  by  a  magistrate  from 
a,  mob,  who  had  not  yet  ratified  the  treaty.  In  Paris,  West 
visited,  as  everywhere  else,  the  collections  of  paintings  and 
sculptures,  but  the  inferiority  of  France  to  Italy  was  at  that 
time  more  apparent  than  at  this,  and  the  American  had  little 
to  learn  in  Paris,  who  had  studied  in,  and  gained  the  appro- 
bation of  the  academies  of  Italy. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
BENJAMIN  WEST  —  Continued. 

ON  the  20th  of  June,  1763,  West  arrived  in  London.  He 
had  while  in  Rome,  painted  his  pictures  of  Cimon  and  Iphi- 
genia,  and  Angelica  and  Medora,  and  proved  that  he  needed 
no  longer  the  instruction  of  modern  Italy.  Raphael  he  would 
willingly  have  studied  all  his  life,  if  Raphael  could  have  been 
transported  by  him  to  the  land  in  which  he  was  to  abide.  He 
says,  "  Michaelangelo  has  not  succeeded  in  giving  a  probable 
character  to  any  of  his  works,  the  Moses,  perhaps,  excepted. 
The  works  of  Raphael  grow  daily  more  interesting,  natural 
and  noble." 

Wherever  West  went,  circumstances  combined  for  his  ad- 
vantage. His  friends,  Allen,  Hamilton,  and  Smith  had  arrived 
before  him  in  London,  and  received  him  with  joy  and  triumph. 
The  portrait  of  Governor  Hamilton,  painted  at  this  time,  is 
in  Philadelphia  now.  Thus  he  found  warm  friends  ready  to 
introduce  him  to  the  best  and  most  powerful  of  the  land  of  his 
fathers.  His  merit  insured  him  a  favorable  reception,  and  he 
was  soon  induced  to  determine  upon  taking  rooms,  and  trying 
to  establish  himself  as  an  historical  painter  in  the  metropolis  of 
England. 

The  state  of  the  art  of  painting  in  that  country,  is  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Cunningham:  "Reynolds  was  devoted  to 
portraits.  Hogarth  was  on  the  brink  of  the  grave;  Barry 
engaged  in  controversaries  in  Rome;  Wilson  neglected;  Gains- 
borough's excellence  lay  in  landscape; —  "  Wilson  mentioned 
above  only  painted  landscape;  Hogarth's  genius  led  him  into 
another  path:  the  heroic  had  no  charms  for  him,  and  the 
beau  ideal  was  probably  unknown  and  unfelt  —  simple  every- 
day nature  satisfied  him,  he  worshipped  her,  and  the  goddess 
smiled  upon  him.  In  fact  England  had  no  distinguished  his- 

56 


MRS.   BENJAMIN   WEST 

(ELIZABETH  SHEWBLL) 
BY  MATTHEW  PRATT 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts 


RECEPTION  IN  ENGLAND  57 

torical  painter,  and  circumstances  again  placed  West  where  he 
was  formed  best  to  thrive. 

In  a  work  called  "The  Percy  Anecdotes,"  it  is  said,  that 
on  the  arrival  of  Mr.  West  in  England,  he  "soon  displayed 
his  powers  in  historical  painting,  in  a  most  excellent  picture; 
the  subject  was  that  of  Pylades  and  Orestes,  one  of  his  very 
best  works."  The  author  dilates  on  the  curiosity  excited  and 
the  admiration  elicited  by  the  work,  and  proceeds,  "but  the 
most  wonderful  part  of  the  story  is,  that  notwithstanding  all 
this  vast  bustle  and  commendation  bestowed  upon  this  justly 
admired  picture,  by  which,  Mr.  West's  servant  gained  up- 
wards of  thirty  pounds  for  showing  it,  no  mortal  ever  asked 
the  price  of  the  work,  or  so  much  as  offered  to  give  him  a 
commission  to  paint  any  other  subject.  Indeed  there  was  one 
gentleman,  who  was  so  highly  delighted  with  the  picture,  and 
spoke  of  it  with  such  great  praise  to  his  father,  that  the  latter 
immediately  asked  him  the  reason  he  did  not  purchase  what  he 
so  much  admired;  when  he  answered,  "What  could  I  do,  if 
I  had  it?  You  would  not  surely  have  me  hang  up  a  modern 
English  picture  in  my  house,  unless  it  was  a  portrait?" 

This  is  a  good  satire  upon  those  who  buy  up  old  pictures, 
and  despise  the  efforts  of  artists  who  are  producing  excellent 
works  in  their  presence. 

We  will  here  quote  a  passage  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Leslie's: 
"The  following  account  of  the  commencement  of  Mr.  West's 
career  in  London  I  had  from  Sir  George  Beaumont;  as  I 
have  not  either  Gait's  or  Allen  Cunningham's  life  of  West  by 
me,  I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  they  have  related  it  in  the 
same  way.  When  Mr.  West  arrived  in  London,  the  general 
opinion  was  so  unfavorable  to  modern  art  that  it  was  scarcely 
thought  possible  for  an  artist  to  paint  an  historical  or  fancy 
picture  worthy  to  hang  up  beside  the  old  masters.  Hogarth 
had  produced  his  matchless  pictures  in  vain.  The  connoisseur 
who  would  have  ventured  to  place  the  inimitable  scenes  of  the 
'Marriage  a  la  mode,'  on  his  walls  (I  mean  the  pictures,  the 
prints  were  in  great  request),  would  have  hazarded  most 
fearfully  his  reputation  for  taste.  This  prejudice  against  living 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

genius  continued  until  the  arrival  of  West,  and  it  must  have 
required  some  courage  in  a  young  man  at  that  time  to  make 
his  appearance  in  England,  in  the  character  of  an  historical 
painter.  One  of  the  first  pictures,  if  not  the  very  first  he  pro- 
duced, was  from  the  story  of  Pylades  and  Orestes  (there  is  an 
admirable  copy  of  it  in  this  country,  painted  by  Mr.  Sully). 
This  picture  attracted  so  much  attention,  that  Mr.  West's  ser- 
vant was  employed  from  morning  till  night  in  opening  the 
door  to  visitors,  and  the  man  received  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  by  showing  it,  while  the  master  was  obliged  to  content 
himself  with  empty  praise.  All  admired,  but  no  one  dared  to 
buy  it.  It  was  curious  enough,  however,  that  the  reputation 
of  this  picture  raised  him  into  high  favor  as  a  portrait  painter, 
for  portrait  painters  were  employed.  I  know  not  how  long 
the  picture  remained  on  the  artist's  hands,  but  when  I  first 
saw  it,  it  was  in  the  collection  of  Sir  George  Beaumont.  He 
gave  it  with  nearly  all  his  pictures  to  the  government,  who 
were  induced  by  so  magnificent  a  present  to  purchase  the 
Angerstein  collection,  and  united  the  two,  to  form  a  National 
Gallery.  Hogarth's  merit  as  a  painter  is  now  acknowledged, 
and  the  six  pictures  of  the  'Marriage  a  la  mode,'  were  hang- 
ing in  the  same  room  with  the  'Pylades  and  Orestes'  when 
I  left  London." 

Those  who  have  read  Cunningham's  "Lives  of  Painters" 
(and  that  is  all  readers  of  taste),  will  know  something  of  Sir 
George  Beaumont;  for  he  was  not  only  a  man  of  the  highest 
standing  in  fortune  and  fashion,  but  he  was  a  painter.  He  was 
truly  a  patron,  not  only  of  the  art,  but  of  individuals  who  had 
merit  and  wanted  assistance;  he  was  the  protector,  supporter, 
adviser,  of  the  poor  youth  who  evinced  genius,  but  had  not 
the  means  of  procuring  the  instruction  necessary  to  his  well- 
doing. Jackson,  one  of  the  greatest  portrait  painters  England 
boasts,  was  an  apprentice  to  a  tailor.  His  talent  for  drawing 
gained  him  the  attention  of  Lord  Mulgrave,  who  happened  to 
reside  near  him  in  Yorkshire;  his  Lordship  and  Sir  George 
Beaumont  purchased  the  lad's  freedom  from  the  shop-board 
and  the  goose,  and  he  immediately  presented  himself  as  if  by 


MARRIAGE  59 

instinct,  before  Beaumont  in  London  and  expressed  his  wish 
to  study  in  the  Royal  Academy:  "You  have  done  wisely," 
said  Sir  George,  "London  is  the  place  for  talents  such  as 
yours."  He  then  gave  him  a  plan  of  study  and  concluded, 
"To  enable  you  to  do  all  this,  you  shall  have  fifty  pounds  a 
year  while  you  are  a  student,  and  live  in  my  house;  you  will 
soon  require  no  aid."  This  is  the  patronage  of  friendship, 
the  protection  of  the  rich,  the  good,  and  the  wise,  afforded  to 
the  meritorious  poor,  seeking  support  and  instruction. 

Mr.  West  sent  his  pictures  of  Angelica  and  Medora,  Cimon 
and  Iphigenia  and  others  finished  since  his  arrival,  to  the 
public  exhibition  room,  at  that  time  in  Spring  Garden.  His 
success  was  complete,  and  he  attracted  the  notice  "of  somt  of 
the  dignitaries  of  the  church.  He  painted  for  Dr.  Newton  the 
Parting  of  Hector  and  Andromache,  —  and  for  the  bishop  of 
Worcester,  the  Return  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  His  reputation 
rose  so  much  with  these  productions  that  Lord  Rockingham 
tempted  him  with  the  offer  of  a  permanent  engagement,  and  a 
salary  of  seven  hundred  pounds  a  year,  to  embellish  with  his- 
torical paintings  his  mansion  in  Yorkshire.  West  consulted 
his  friends  concerning  this  alluring  offer  —  they  were  sensible 
men  —  they  advised  him  to  confide  in  the  public:  and  he  fol- 
lowed, for  a  time,  their  salutary  counsel. 

"This  successful  beginning,  and  the  promise  of  full  employ- 
ment, induced  him  to  resolve  on  remaining  in  the  Old  Country. 
But  he  was  attached  to  a  young  lady  in  his  native  land  — 
absence  had  augmented  his  regard,  and  he  wished  to  return  to 
Philadelphia,  marry  her,  and  bring  her  to  England.  He  dis- 
closed the  state  of  his  affections  to  his  friends,  Smith  and  Allen; 
those  gentlemen  took  a  less  romantic  view  of  the  matter,  ad- 
vised the  artist  to  stick  to  his  easel,  and  arranged  the  whole 
so  prudently  that  the  lady  came  to  London  accompanied  by 
a  relation  whose  time  was  not  so  valuable  as  West's  —  and 
they  were  married  on  the  2d  of  September,  1765,  in  the  church 
of  St.  Martin's  in  the  Fields."  I 

This  relation  was  West's  father,  Miss  Shewall  having  agreed 
to  leave  America  on  that  condition.  "The  venerable  figure 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  the  old  Quaker  is  conspicuous  in  Penn's  treaty,  in  the  family 
picture  of  West,  and  in  a  large  allegorical  painting  in  St. 
George's  Hospital,  London.  The  reasons  given  by  West  for 
not  crossing  the  Atlantic,  appeared  sufficient  in  the  eyes  of 
his  betrothed  and  her  friends,  and  unlike  the  bride  of  a  king, 
she  came  to  the  youth  who  had  gained  her  heart,  accom- 
panied by  his  father,  and  was  united  to  the  man  who  in  her  last 
stage  of  life,  she  declared  to  have  been  all  his  days  without 
fault.  On  receiving  from  Mr.  Leslie  the  anecdote  of  Benjamin 
West's  oldest  brother,  left  in  England  as  above  related,  and 
first  seen  by  his  father  at  the  age  of  forty,  I  inquired  of  my 
excellent  correspondent  for  his  authority.  He  answered,  "  The 
information  respecting  Mr.  West's  elder  brother,  I  had  from 
a  quarter  I  can  thoroughly  rely  on.  It  was  given  me  by  my 
venerable  friend,  William  Dillwyer,  a  Quaker  gentleman  and 
a  native  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  known  Mr.  West  from  his 
youth,  and  indeed  I  think  their  acquaintance  commenced 
before  either  of  them  left  America.  Raphael  West  remembers 
his  grandfather  and  uncle,  and  confirms  Mr.  Dillwyer's  ac- 
count of  the  latter  being  a  watchmaker  and  settled  at  Read- 
ing. Mr.  Dillwyer  was  intimate  with  Wilberforce  and  Clark- 
son,  and  took  an  active  part  with  them  in  their  great  work  of 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  He  told  me  that  Mr.  West 
accommodated  the  committees  with  the  use  of  his  large  rooms 
in  Newman  Street.  Raphael  West  remembers  his  grandfather 
as  being  very  neat  in  his  dress.  Mr.  West  told  me  that  on 
asking  the  old  gentleman  how  he  was  struck  with  the  appear- 
ance of  London  after  his  long  absence,  he  replied,  'The  streets 
and  houses  look  very  much  as  they  did,  but  can  thee  tell  me, 
my  son,  what  has  become  of  all  the  Englishmen?  When  I  left 
England  forty  years  since,  the  men  were  generally  a  portly, 
comely  race,  with  ample  garments,  and  large  flowing  wigs; 
rather  slow  in  their  movements,  and  grave  and  dignified 
in  their  deportment: — but  now  they  are  docked  and  cropped, 
and  skipping  about  in  scanty  clothes,  like  so  many  monkeys.'  ' 
"I  believe,"  continues  Mr.  Leslie,  "Mr.  West  has  introduced 
the  portraits  of  his  father,  and  half  brother  in  his  picture  of 


STORY  OF  GEORGE  IV  61 

Perm's  treaty.  This  picture  is  in  the  possession  of  John  Penn, 
Esq.  of  Stoke,  the  lineal  descendant  of  William  Penn.  Mr. 
West  told  me  that  he  introduced  his  father  and  some  other 
Quakers  from  Philadelphia  to  a  private  audience  with  George 
the  Third  at  the  request  of  the  king.  On  this  occasion  the 
Prince  of  Wales  remarked,  rather  irreverently  that  'the  king 
had  always  been  fond  of  Quakers  ever  since  he  kept  that 
little  Quaker  w .'  " 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  "finest  gentleman  in  England"  — 
We  give  another,  connected  with  West,  when  this  fine  gentle- 
man was  George  the  Fourth.  "An  anecdote  connected  with 
Benjamin  West  has  just  occurred  to  my  memory,"  says  Les- 
lie, "I  cannot  vouch  for  its  truth,  but  it  was  current  among 
the  artists,  and  I  think  it  highly  probable  that  it  is  true.  You 
most  likely  know  that  one  room  in  Windsor  Castle  is  entirely 
filled  with  his  pictures,  consisting  of  a  series  of  subjects  from 
the  history  of  Edward  the  Third;  the  surrender  of  Calais; 
the  battles  of  Cressy  and  Poictiers,  the  Installation  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Garter,  etc.,  etc.  George  the  Fourth,  who 
amused  himself  during  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  making 
alterations  in  the  castle,  took  it  into  his  head  to  consign  all 
these  pictures  to  the  lumber  room.  Fortunately,  however,  he 
consulted  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  on  the  subject.  Lawrence  who 
was  considered  in  general  to  be  sufficiently  complaisant  to  his 
majesty,  had  the  courage  on  this  occasion  to  differ  from  him, 
and  told  him  he  thought  these  pictures  formed  a  most  appro- 
priate ornament  to  the  castle,  and  that  if  they  were  removed, 
there  was  no  living  artist  capable  of  supplying  their  place 
with  similar  subjects!  His  opinion  saved  the  pictures." 

"In  portraits,"  says  an  English  author,  "we  saw  Reynolds 
rise  eminently  superior,  while  West  chose  for  the  exercise  of 
his  pencil  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  antiquity."  "Struck 
with  the  superior  merits  of  an  historical  design  by  Mr.  West, 
then  a  very  young  man,  his  majesty  commissioned  him  to 
paint  a  composition  for  the  royal  collection,  and  with  that  deli- 
cate consideration  that  unites  the  true  gentleman  with  the 
patron,  left  the  subject  to  the  painter's  choice.  Mr.  West 


62  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

selected  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  in  ancient  history, 
and  produced  a  picture  which,  added  to  a  knowledge  of  all 
the  executive  properties  of  painting,  exhibited  a  pathos  worthy 
of  the  awful  dignity  of  the  story.  Regulus,  a  Roman  general, 
prisoner  to  the  Carthaginians,  and  then  on  his  parole  at  Rome 
had  patriotically  determined  to  return  to  captivity,  and  sacri- 
fice his  life  for  the  benefit  of  his  country.  The  moment  chosen 
is,  when  surrounded  by  his  supplicating  friends,  and  rejecting 
their  entreaties,  he  is  resigning  himself  to  the  ambassadors  of 
Carthage.  The  excellence  of  the  picture,  for  which  his  ma- 
jesty gave  the  artist  one  thousand  guineas,  is  the  best  com- 
ment on  the  judgment  of  his  royal  employer.  One  apartment 
in  Buckingham  House  was  afterwards  entirely  appropriated  to 
productions  from  the  pencil  of  Mr.  West.  Among  these  are 
the  Death  of  General  Wolfe;  the  Death  of  Chevalier  Bayard; 
and  perhaps  the  finest  of  all,  Hamilcar  Swearing  the  Infant 
Hannibal  at  the  Altar." 

"Dr.  Drummond,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  a  dignified  and 
liberal  prelate,  and  an  admirer  of  painting,  invited  West  to 
his  table,  conversed  with  him  on  the  influence  of  art,  and  on 
the  honor  which  the  patronage  of  genius  reflected  on  the 
rich,  and  opening  Tacitus,  pointed  out  that  fine  passage  where 
Agrippina  lands  with  the  ashes  of  Germanicus.  He  caused 
his  son  to  read  it  again  and  again,  commented  upon  it  with 
taste  and  feeling,  and  requested  West  to  make  him  a  painting 
of  that  subject.  The  artist  went  home,  it  was  then  late,  but 
before  closing  his  eyes  he  formed  a  sketch,  and  carried  it  early 
next  morning  to  his  patron,  who,  glad  to  see  that  his  own 
notions  were  likely  to  be  embodied  in  lasting  colors,  requested 
that  the  full-size  work  might  be  proceeded  with.  Nor  was 
this  all  —  that  munificent  prelate  proposed  to  raise  three 
thousand  pounds  by  subscription,  to  enable  West  to  relinquish 
likenesses  and  give  his  whole  time  and  talents  to  historical 
painting.  Fifteen  hundred  pounds  were  accordingly  sub- 
scribed by  himself  and  his  friends;  but  the  public  refused  to 
co-operate,  and  the  scheme  was  abandoned. 

"The  archbishop  regarded  the  failure  of  this  plan  as  a 


INTRODUCTION  TO  GEORGE  III  63 

stigma  on  the  country;  his  self-love  too  was  offended.  He 
disregarded  alike  the  coldness  of  the  duke  of  Portland  and  the 
evasions  of  Lord  Rockingham,  to  whom  he  communicated  his 
scheme  —  sought  and  obtained  an  audience  of  his  majesty,  then 
young  and  unacquainted  with  cares  —  informed  him  that  a  de- 
vout American  and  Quaker  had  painted,  at  his  request,  such  a 
noble  picture  that  he  was  desirous  to  secure  his  talents  for  the 
throne  and  the  country.  The  king  was  much  interested  with 
the  story,  and  said,  'Let  me  see  this  young  painter  of  yours 
with  his  "Agrippina'  as  soon  as  you  please."  The  prelate  retired 
to  communicate  his  success  to  West.  A  gentleman  came  from 
the  palace  to  request  West's  attendance  with  the  picture  of 
Agrippina.  'His  majesty,'  said  the  messenger,  'is  a  young 
man  of  great  simplicity  and  candor;  sedate  in  his  affections, 
scrupulous  in  forming  private  friendships,  good  from  principle, 
and  pure  from  a  sense  of  the  beauty  of  virtue.'  Forty  years' 
intercourse,  we  might  almost  say  friendship,  confirmed  to  the 
painter  the  accuracy  of  these  words. 

"The  king  received  West  with  easy  frankness,  assisted  him 
to  place  the  'Agrippina'  in  a  favorable  light,  removed  the  at- 
tendants and  brought  in  the  queen,  to  whom  he  presented  our 
Quaker.  He  related  to  her  majesty  the  history  of  the  picture, 
and  bade  her  notice  the  simplicity  of  the  design  and  the  beauty 
of  the  coloring.  'There  is  another  noble  Roman  subject,' 
observed  his  Majesty,  'the  departure  of  Regulus  from  Rome  — 
would  it  not  make  a  fine  picture?'  'It  is  a  magnificent  sub- 
ject,' said  the  painter.  'Then,'  said  the  king,  'you  shall 
paint  it  for  me.'  He  turned  with  a  smile  to  the  queen,  and 
said,  'The  archbishop  made  one  of  his  sons  read  Tacitus  to 
Mr.  West,  but  I  will  read  Livy  to  him  myself  —  that  part  where 
he  describes  the  departure  of  Regulus.'  So  saying,  he  read 
the  passage  very  gracefully,  and  then  repeated  his  command 
that  the  picture  should  be  painted. 

"  West  was  too  prudent  not  to  wish  to  retain  the  sovereign's 
good  opinion  —  and  his  modesty  and  his  merit  deserved  it. 
The  palace-doors  now  seemed  to  open  of  their  own  accord, 
and  the  domestics  attended  with  an  obedient  start  to  the  wishes 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  him  whom  the  king  delighted  to  honor.  There  are  minor 
matters  which  sometimes  help  a  man  on  to  fame;  and  in  these 
too  he  had  his  share.  West  was  a  skilful  skater,  and  in  America 
had  formed  an  acquaintance  on  the  ice  with  Colonel,  after- 
ward too  well  known  in  the  colonial  war  as  General  Howe; 
this  friendship  had  dissolved  with  the  thaw,  and  was  for- 
gotten, till  one  day  the  painter,  having  tied  on  his  skates  at 
the  Serpentine,  was  astonishing  the  timid  practitioners  of  Lon- 
don by  the  rapidity  of  his  motions  and  the  graceful  figure 
which  he  cut.  Some  one  cried  'West!  West!'  It  was  Colonel 
Howe.  'I  am  glad  to  see  you,'  said  he,  'and  not  the  less  so 
that  you  come  in  good  time  to  vindicate  my  praises  of  American 
skating.'  He  called  to  him  Lord  Spencer  Hamilton  and 
some  of  the  Cavendishes,  to  whom  he  introduced  West  as  one 
of  the  Philadelphia  prodigies,  and  requested  him  to  show  them 
what  was  called  'The  Salute.'  He  performed  his  feat  so  much 
to  their  satisfaction,  that  they  went  away  spreading  the  praises 
of  the  American  skater  over  London.  Nor  was  the  consider- 
ate Quaker  insensible  to  the  value  of  such  commendations; 
he  continued  to  frequent  the  Serpentine  and  to  gratify  large 
crowds  by  cutting  the  Philadelphia  Salute.  Many  to  their 
praise  of  his  skating  added  panegyrics  on  his  professional 
skill,  and  not  a  few,  to  vindicate  their  applause,  followed  him 
to  his  easel,  and  sat  for  their  portraits." 

More  than  twenty  years  after,  the  writer  skated  with  the 
great  painter  and  his  oldest  son  on  the  Serpentine,  and  West 
was  the  best,  though  not  the  most  active  then  on  the  ice. 

The  "Departure  of  Regulus"  placed  Benjamin  West  on 
the  throne  of  English  art.  Thus  a  youth,  by  the  force  of 
talent,  guided  by  prudence,  found  himself  at  the  pinnacle  he 
aimed  at,  when,  as  a  child,  he  read  in  Richardson  and  Du  Fres- 
noy  of  painters  who  were  cherished  and  honored  by  kings. 

In  a  late  publication,  "  The  Cabinet  of  Natural  History," 
published  1830,  by  Doughty,  Philadelphia,  West  has  been  repre- 
sented to  his  country,  by  one  of  his  most  favored  pupils,  as  a 
man  of  moderate  genius,  arriving  at  excellence  by  persever- 
ance and  industry.  Perseverance  and  industry  in  well-doing 


INCEPTION  OF  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  65 

cannot  be  too  much  praised.  West  was  industrious  and  perse- 
vering. But  God  had  endowed  him  with  uncommon  physical 
and  mental  powers;  and  those  powers  were  not  only  fitted  for 
the  art  he  loved,  but  circumstances  of  a  peculiar  nature  turned 
the  course  of  his  genius  into  the  track  leading  to  brilliant 
excellence.  It  would  appear  from  this  publication,  that  West's 
success  was  only  derived  from  persevering  industry;  but  the 
fact  of  West's  complete  success  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  when 
perseverance  and  industry  had  not  had  time  to  do  more  for 
him  than  for  hundreds  of  his  pupils,  contradicts  this  assertion. 

"While  West  was  painting  the  'Departure  of  Regulus,'  the 
present  Royal  Academy  was  planned.  The  Society  of  Incor- 
porated Artists,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  had  grown  rich 
by  yearly  exhibitions,  and  how  to  lay  out  this  money  became 
the  subject  of  vehement  debate.  The  architects  were  for  a 
house,  the  sculptors  for  statues,  and  the  painters  proposed 
a  large  gallery  for  historical  works,  while  a  mean  and  sordid 
member  or  two  voted  to  let  it  lie  and  grow  more,  for  it  was 
pleasant  to  see  riches  accumulate.  West,  who  happened  to 
be  a  director,  approved  of  none  of  these  notions,  and  with 
Reynolds  withdrew  from  the  association.  The  newspapers  of 
the  day  noticed  these  indecent  bickerings;  and  the  king, 
learning  the  cause  from  the  lips  of  West,  declared  that  he  was 
ready  to  patronize  any  association  formed  on  principles  calcu- 
lated to  advance  the  interests  of  art.  A  plan  was  proposed 
by  some  of  the  dissenters,  and  submitted  to  his  majesty,  who 
corrected  it,  and  drew  up  some  additional  articles  with  his  own 
hand. 

"Meanwhile  the  incorporated  artists  continued  their  debates, 
in  total  ignorance  that  their  dissenting  brethren  were  laying 
the  foundation  of  a  surer  structure  than  their  own.  Kirby, 
teacher  of  perspective  to  the  king,  had  been  chosen  president: 
but  so  secretly  was  all  managed,  that  he  had  never  heard  a 
whisper  in  the  palace  concerning  the  new  academy,  and  in  his 
inaugural  address  from  the  chair,  he  assured  his  Companions 
that  his  majesty  would  not  countenance  the  schismatics. 
While  West  was  one  day  busy  with  his  'Regulus,'  the  king 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  queen  looking  on,  Kirby  was  announced,  and  his  majesty 
having  consulted  his  consort  in  German,  admitted  him,  and 
introduced  him  to  West,  to  whose  person  he  was  a  stranger. 
He  looked  at  the  picture,  praised  it  warmly,  and  congratu- 
lated the  artist;  then,  turning  to  the  king,  said,  'Your  majesty 
never  mentioned  anything  of  this  work  to  me;  who  made  the 
frame?  it  is  not  made  by  one  of  your  majesty's  workmen;  it 
ought  to  have  been  made  by  the  royal  carver  and  gilder.'  To 
this  impertinence  the  king  answered,  with  great  calmness, 
'Kirby,  whenever  you  are  able  to  paint  me  such  a  picture  as 
this,  your  friend  shall  make  the  frame.'  'I  hope,  Mr.  West,' 
said  Kirby,  'that  you  intend  to  exhibit  this  picture?'  'It  is 
painted  for  the  palace,'  said  West,  'and  its  exhibition  must 
depend  upon  his  majesty's  pleasure.'  'Assuredly,'  said  the 
king,  'I  shall  be  very  happy  to  let  the  work  be  shown  to  the 
public.'  'Then,  Mr.  West,'  said  Kirby,  'you  will  send  it  to 
my  exhibition.'  'No!'  interrupted  his  majesty,  'it  must  go 
to  my  exhibition  —  to  that  of  the  Royal  Academy.'  The  presi- 
dent of  the  associated  artists  bowed  with  much  humility  and 
retired.  He  did  not  long  survive  this  mortification,  and  his 
death  was  imputed  by  the  founders  of  the  new  academy  to 
jealousy  of  their  rising  establishment,  but  by  those  who  knew 
him  well,  to  a  more  ordinary  cause,  the  decay  of  nature.  The 
Royal  Academy  was  founded,  and  in  its  first  exhibition 
appeared  the  'Regulus.' 

"A  change  was  now  to  be  effected  in  the  character  of  British 
art;  hitherto  historical  painting  had  appeared  in  a  masking 
habit:  the  actions  of  Englishmen  seemed  all  to  have  been  per- 
formed, if  costume  were  to  be  believed,  by  Greeks  or  by  Ro- 
mans. West  dismissed  at  once  this  pedantry,  and  restored 
nature  and  propriety  in  his  noble  work  of  'The  Death  of  Wolfe.' 
The  multitude  acknowledged  its  excellence  at  once.  The 
lovers  of  old  art,  the  manufacturers  of  compositions  called 
by  courtesy  classical,  complained  of  the  barbarism  of  boots, 
buttons,  and  blunderbusses,  and  cried  out  for  naked  warriors, 
with  bows,  bucklers,  and  battering  rams.  Lord  Grosvenor, 
disregarding  the  frowns  of  the  amateurs,  and  the,  at  best,  cold 


INNOVATIONS  67 

approbation  of  the  Academy,  purchased  this  work,  which,  in 
spite  of  laced  coats  and  cocked  hats,  is  one  of  the  best  of  our 
historical  pictures.  The  Indian  warrior,  watching  the  dying 
hero,  to  see  if  he  equalled  in  fortitude  the  children  of  the 
deserts,  is  a  fine  stroke  of  nature  and  poetry. 

"The  king  questioned  West  concerning  the  picture,  and  put 
him  on  his  defence  of  this  new  heresy  in  art.  To  the  curiosity 
of  Gait  we  owe  the  sensible  answer  of  West :  —  '  When  it  was 
understood,'  said  the  artist,  'that  I  intended  to  paint  the 
characters  as  they  had  actually  appeared  on  the  scene,  the 
Archbishop  of  York  called  on  Reynolds,  and  asked  his  opinion; 
they  both  came  to  my  house  to  dissuade  me  from  running  so 
great  a  risk.  Reynolds  began  a  very  ingenious  and  elegant 
dissertation  on  the  state  of  the  public  taste  in  this  country,  and 
the  danger  which  every  innovation  incurred  of  contempt  and 
ridicule,  and  concluded  by  urging  me  earnestly  to  adopt  the 
costume  of  antiquity,  as  more  becoming  the  greatness  of  my 
subject  than  the  modern  garb  of  European  warriors.  I  answered 
that  the  event  to  be  commemorated  happened  in  the  year 
1758,  in  a  region  of  the  world  unknown  to  Greeks  and  Romans, 
and  at  a  period  of  time  when  no  warriors  who  wore  such  cos- 
tume existed.  The  subject  I  have  to  represent  is  a  great  battle 
fought  and  won,  and  the  same  truth  which  gives  law  to  the 
historian  should  rule  the  painter.  If  instead  of  the  facts  of  the 
action  I  introduce  fictions,  how  shall  I  be  understood  by  pos- 
terity? The  classic  dress  is  certainly  picturesque,  but  by 
using  it  I  shall  lose  in  sentiment  what  I  gain  in  external  grace. 
I  want  to  mark  the  place,  the  time,  and  the  people,  and  to  do 
this  I  must  abide  by  truth.  They  went  away  then,  and  re- 
turned again  when  I  had  the  painting  finished.  Reynolds 
seated  himself  before  the  picture,  examined  it  with  deep  and 
minute  attention  for  half  an  hour;  then  rising,  said  to  Drum- 
mond,  'West  has  conquered;  he  has  treated  his  subject  as  it 
ought  to  be  treated;  I  retract  my  objections.  I  foresee  that 
this  picture  will  not  only  become  one  of  the  most  popular,  but 
will  occasion  a  revolution  in  art.'  'I  wish/  said  the  king,  'that 
I  had  known  all  this  before,  for  the  objection  has  been  the 


68  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

means  of  Lord  Grosvenor's  getting  the  picture,  but  you  shall 
make  a  copy  for  me.' ' 

From  the  following  anecdote,  communicated  by  my  friend 
Charles  Fraser,  Esq.,  it  will  appear  that  West,  notwithstand- 
ing his  acquaintance  with  the  savages  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
first  made  him  master  of  red  and  yellow  pigments  to  combine 
with  the  contents  of  his  mother's  indigo-bag  —  notwithstand- 
ing his  familiarity  with  the  Indians,  who  visited  the  early  set- 
tlers, and  brought  their  baskets  to  exchange  for  the  European 
wares  of  their  Quaker  neighbors,  notwithstanding  all  this  in- 
tercourse with  American  savages,  was  unacquainted  with  the 
peculiar  toilet  of  the  warrior,  when  arrayed  for  the  exercise 
of  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping-knife.  West  not  having  seen 
an  Indian  in  his  war  dress  (although  Mr.  Cunningham  has 
made  him  lead  a  "select  body  of  Indians"  on  a  war  expedition 
into  the  wilderness,  as  we  have  seen  above),  notwithstanding 
his  desire  to  represent  the  true  costume  of  the  figures  intro- 
duced as  present  at  the  death  of  Wolfe,  erred  through  igno- 
rance of  the  Indian  warrior's  appearance  on  the  field  of  battle. 
"When  Col.  Henry  Laurens,"  says  Mr.  Fraser,  "was  in  London 
during  the  American  War  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  West  showed 
him  the  picture  of  the  death  of  General  Wolfe.  After  admiring 
it,  he  asked  the  artist's  permission  to  make  one  criticism  on 
it,  which,  however,  was  not  connected  with  its  merits  as  a 
work  of  art.  He  then  observed  that  the  Indian  on  the  front 
ground  was  represented  with  naked  feet;  whereas  an  Indian 
warrior  was  never  known  to  go  into  battle  without  his  moc- 
casins, they  being  considered  a  necessary  part  of  his  military 
equipment.  This  information  came  with  authority  from  one 
who  had  himself  served  against  the  American  Indians.  Mr. 
West  expressed  much  regret  at  his  ignorance  of  the  fact,  but  it 
was  too  late  to  make  any  alteration  in  the  picture. 

"West  had  now  obtained  the  personal  confidence  of  the 
king  and  the  favor  of  the  public;  his  commissions  were  numer- 
ous, but  of  course  the  works  for  the  palace  had  precedence. 
His  majesty  employed  him  to  paint  the  death  of  Epaminondas, 
as  a  companion  to  that  of  Wolfe,  the  death  of  the  Chevalier 


BIBLICAL  SUBJECTS  69 

Bayard,  Cyrus  liberating  the  family  of  the  king  of  Armenia, 
and  Segestes  and  his  daughter  brought  before  Germanicus." 

Established  as  the  favorite  painter  of  the  king  of  Great 
Britain,  Mr.  West  suggested  to  the  king  a  series  of  pictures  on 
the  progress  of  revealed  religion:  a  splendid  oratory  was  pro- 
jected for  their  reception,  and  half  a  dozen  dignitaries  of  the 
church  were  summoned  to  consider  the  propriety  of  introduc- 
ing paintings  into  a  place  of  worship.  "When  I  reflect,"  said  the 
king,  "that  the  Reformation  condemned  religious  paintings  in 
churches,  and  that  the  parliament  in  the  unhappy  days  of 
Charles  the  First  did  the  same,  I  am  fearful  of  introducing  any- 
thing which  my  people  might  think  popish.  Will  you  give 
me  your  opinions  on  the  subject?"  After  some  deliberation 
Bishop  Hurd  delivered  in  the  name  of  his  brethren  and  him- 
self their  unanimous  opinion,  that  the  introduction  of  religious 
paintings  into  his  Majesty's  Chapel  would  in  no  respect  violate 
the  laws  or  the  usages  of  the  Church  of  England. 

The  painter,  with  his  usual  assiduity  and  love  for  his  art, 
devoted  himself  to  this  great  study.  He  divided  his  subject 
"  into  Four  Dispensations  —  the  Antediluvian,  the  Patriarchal, 
the  Mosaical,  and  the  Prophetical.  They  contained  in  all 
thirty-six  subjects,  eighteen  of  which  belonged  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, the  rest  to  the  New.  They  were  all  sketched,  and 
twenty-eight  were  executed,  for  which  West  received  in  all 
twenty -one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  five  pounds.  A  work 
so  varied,  so  extensive,  and  so  noble  in  its  nature,  was  never 
before  undertaken  by  any  painter." 

During  the  progress  of  this  work,  he  painted  many  other 
pictures,  some  of  them  for  hi  royal  friend.  The  king,  queen, 
princes,  and  princesses,  sat  for  their  portraits,  sometimes  singly 
and  sometimes  in  groups,  and  he  received  for  nine  pictures  of 
this  description,  two  thousand  guineas.  These  portraits  are 
far  inferior  to  the  works  in  that  branch  of  the  art,  of  Reynolds 
or  Copley,  or  many  others.  One  of  the  finest  pictures  of  West 
is  the  "Battle  of  La  Hogue."  It  is  said  that  when  he  Was  paint' 
ing  this  picture,  an  admiral  took  him  to  Spithead,  and  to  give 
him  a  lesson  on  the  effect  of  smoke  in  a  naval  engagement, 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ordered  several  ships  of  the  fleet  to  manoeuvre  as  in  action, 
and  fire  broadsides,  while  the  painter  made  notes.  It  was  a 
maxim  with  West  to  paint  nothing  without  studying  the  ob- 
ject, if  it  was  to  be  obtained.  The  originality  of  this  great 
picture  cannot  be  questioned,  yet  we  have  a  print  before  us  (of 
the  same  size  with  Woollet's  print  from  La  Hogue)  which  has 
points  of  similarity  that  make  us  think  West  must  have  seen 
it.  It  is  from  a  picture  by  Langendyk,  a  Dutch  painter,  and 
represents  the  destruction  of  the  English  fleet  in  the  Thames 
by  De  Ruyter  and  De  Witt,  in  the  year  1667.  The  "Royal 
Charles"  is  strikingly  like  the  nearest  French  ship  in  West's 
picture;  and  indeed  the  treatment  of  the  whole  subject  is  in  a 
manner  analogous. 

To  paint  great  pictures,  and  to  live,  even  with  prudence  and 
without  ostentation  as  befitting  the  friend  of  royalty,  required 
many  thousand  guineas.  Benjamin  West,  when  he  began  his 
career  in  London,  had  no  fortune,  and  had  to  rely  on  the 
product  of  his  individual  exertion;  for  it  was  only  after  his  es- 
tablishment, that  he  could  employ  pupils  and  inferior  artists, 
to  assist  in  the  mechanical  part  of  the  labor.  He  had  debts 
to  pay.  He  had  a  house  to  build  for  his  family,  and  galleries 
and  work-shops,  spacious  and  lofty  for  pictures  designed  for 
royal  chapels.  To  purchase  ground  in  the  west  part  of  the 
metropolis  and  erect  such  buildings  as  the  painter  boldly,  yet 
wisely,  constructed  in  Newman  Street,  necessarily  incurred  a 
great  debt.  "When,"  said  Gilbert  Stuart,  "I  had  finished  a 
copy  of  a  portrait  for  my  old  master,  that  I  knew  he  was  to 
have  a  good  price  for,  and  he  gave  me  a  guinea,  I  used  to 
think  it  hard  —  but  when  I  looked  on  the  establishment  around 
me,  which  with  his  instruction  I  enjoyed,  and  knew  it  was  yet 
to  be  paid  for,  I  fully  exonerated  West  from  the  charge  of 
niggardliness,  and  cheerfully  contributed  my  labor  in  return 
for  his  kindness." 

The  following  painter's  gossip  was  communicated  by  Mr. 
West  to  Allston,  and  by  him  to  us.  "  Before  the  Royal  Academy 
was  formed,  the  Society  of  Painters  (as  I  think  they  were 
then  called)  held  then*  annual  exhibition  in  Spring  Gardens. 


ANECDOTE  OF  WILSON  71 

On  a  certain  year  Mr.  West  and  Mr.  Wilson  happened  to  be 
appointed  joint  hangers.  It  was  a  memorable  year  for  the 
crudeness  of  the  performances,  in  consequence,  I  suppose,  of 
an  unusual  number  of  new  adventurers.  WTien  the  pictures 
were  all  up,  Wilson,  with  an  expressive  grin,  began  to  rub  his 
eyes,  as  if  to  clear  them  of  something  painful.  'I'll  tell  you 
what,  West/  said  he  after  a  while,  'this  will  never  do;  we 
shall  lose  the  little  credit  we  have:  the  public  can  never  stand 
such  a  shower  of  chalk  and  brick-bats.'  —  'Well,  what's  to 
be  done?  We  can't  reject  any  pictures  now.'  'Since  that's 
the  case  then,  we  must  mend  their  manners.'  'What  do  you 
mean  to  do?'  'You  shall  see,'  said  Wilson  after  a  pause, 
'what  Indian  ink  and  Spanish  liquorice  can  do.'  He  accord- 
ingly despatched  the  porter  to  the  colorman  and  druggist 
for  these  reformers,  and  dissolving  them  in  water,  actually 
washed  nearly  half  the  pictures  in  the  exhibition  with  this 
original  glaze.  'There,'  said  he,  *  'tis  as  good  as  asphal- 
tum  —  with  this  advantage:  that  if  the  artists  don't  like 
it,  they  can  wash  it  off  when  they  get  the  pictures  home.' ' 
And  Mr.  West  acknowledged  that  they  were  all  the  better 
for  it. 

West  proceeded  steadily  in  the  execution  of  the  great  work 
from  the  Scriptures  (occasionally  painting  other  historical 
subjects),  to  the  increase  of  his  reputation,  and  the  satisfaction 
of  his  royal  friend. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1784,  the  writer  of  this  memoir  arrived 
in  England,  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  art  of  painting, 
having  assurances  of  the  aid  of  Mr.  West,  before  leaving  New 
York.  When  introduced  to  the  painter,  he  was  working  on  an 
easel  picture  for  the  Empress  Catharine  of  Russia.  It  was 
Lear  and  Cordelia. 

The  impression  made  upon  an  American  youth  of  eighteen 
by  the  long  gallery  leading  from  the  dwelling-house,  to  the 
lofty  suite  of  painting  rooms  —  a  gallery  filled  with  sketches 
and  designs  for  large  paintings  —  the  spacious  room  through 
which  I  passed  to  the  more  retired  atelier  —  the  works  of  his 
pencil  surrounding  me  on  every  side  —  his  own  figure  seated 


72  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

at  his  easel,  and  the  beautiful  composition  at  which  he  was 
employed,  as  if  in  sport,  not  labor;  —  all  are  recalled  to  my 
mind's  eye  at  this  distance  of  half  a  century,  with  a  vividness 
which  doubtless  proceeds  in  part,  from  the  repeated  visits  to, 
and  examination  of,  many  of  the  same  objects,  during  a  resi- 
dence of  more  than  three  years  in  London.  But  the  painter, 
as  he  then  appeared,  and  received  me  and  my  conductor  (Mr. 
Effingham  Lawrence,  an  American,  like  himself  of  a  Quaker 
family,  and  no  longer  a  Quaker  in  habits  and  appearance),  the 
palette,  pencil,  easel,  figure  of  Cordelia,  all  are  now  before  me 
as  though  seen  yesterday. 

Many  of  the  pictures  for  the  Royal  Chapel  of  Windsor  were 
then  in  the  apartments,  particularly  I  call  to  view  the  "Moses 
Receiving  the  Law." 

The  pictures  mentioned  below  by  Mr.  Cunningham,  were 
not  painted  for  some  years  after;  although  recorded  by  him 
as  preceding  the  works  on  Revelation. 

"The  painter  expressed  his  regret  that  the  Italians  had 
dipped  their  pencils  in  the  monkish  miracles  and  incredible 
legends  of  the  church,  to  the  almost  total  neglect  of  their 
national  history ;  the  king  instantly  bethought  him  of  the  victo- 
rious reign  of  our  third  Edward,  and  of  St.  George's  Hall  in 
Windsor  Castle.  West  had  a  ready  hand;  he  sketched  out 
the  following  subjects,  seven  of  which  are  from  real  and  one 
from  fabulous  history: 

"  1.  Edward  the  Third  embracing  the  Black  Prince,  after 
the  Battle  of  Cressy.  2.  The  Installation  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter.  3.  The  Black  Prince  receiving  the  King  of  France 
and  his  son  prisoners,  at  Poictiers.  4.  St.  George  vanquishing 
the  Dragon.  5.  Queen  Phillipa  defeating  David  of  Scotland, 
in  the  Battle  of  Neville's  Cross.  6.  Queen  Phillipa  interceding 
with  Edward  for  the  Burgesses  of  Calais.  7.  King  Edward 
forcing  the  passage  of  the  Somme.  8.  King  Edward  crowning 
Sir  Eustace  de  Ribaumont  at  Calais.  These  works  are  very 
large.  They  were  the  fruit  of  long  study  and  much  labor,  and 
with  the  exception  of  the  'Death  of  Wolfe'  and  the  'Battle  of 
La  Hogue,'  they  are  the  best  of  all  the  numerous  works  of  this 


PUPILS   OF  WEST  73 

artist."  Yet  these  are  the  pictures  George  IV  consigned  to 
the  lumber  room. 

Previous  to  the  writer's  visit  to  Europe,  Mr.  West  had 
afforded  instruction  and  the  most  paternal  encouragement  to 
many  pupils,  American  and  English.  Those  of  this  country 
will  frequently  be  brought  before  the  reader  of  this  work. 
Charles  Willson  Peale,  Gilbert  Stuart,  Joseph  Wright  and 
John  Trumbull,  were  among  the  American  students.  Peale 
was  under  his  guidance  from  1771  to  1774;  Stuart,  Wright 
and  Trumbull,  during  portions  of  the  American  Revolutionary 
War,  and  the  last  mentioned  was  established  with  him  at  the 
time  of  the  visit  above  noticed,  as  a  pupil,  and  remained  such 
for  some  years  after. 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  speculation  with  many,  to  determine 
how  West  managed  to  keep  the  favor  of  his  friend  George 
the  Third,  during  the  contest  his  ministers  and  armies  were 
carrying  on  against  the  native  land  of  the  artist,  and  at  the 
same  time  preserve  the  love  of  country,  and  declare  his  attach- 
ment to  the  cause  of  liberty. 

Cunningham  says,  "He  was  not,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, silent;  he  was  too  much  in  the  palace  and  alone  with 
his  majesty  to  avoid  some  allusion  to  the  strife;  the  king 
inquired  anxiously  respecting  the  resources  of  his  foes  and  the 
talents  of  their  chiefs,  and  the  artist  gave,  or  imagined  he 
gave,  more  correct  information  concerning  the  American  lead- 
ers and  their  objects  than  could  be  acquired  through  official 
channels.  How  he  contrived  both  to  keep  his  place  in  the 
king's  opinion,  and  the  respect  of  the  spirits  who  stirred  in 
the  American  Re  volution,  he  has  not  told  us,  but  it  is  not  difficult 
to  guess." 

As  we  are  Yankees,  we  may  perhaps  guess  as  well  as  a 
Scotchman.  West  had  been  many  years  from  his  native  land 
before  the  contest  took  place.  He  had  no  connexion  with,  or 
knowledge  of,  most  of  the  leaders  in  his  country's  cause.  He 
was  prudent  and  known  to  be  an  honest  man.  George  the 
Third  was  an  honest  man,  and  perfectly  relied  upon  the  paint- 
er's sincerity.  Why  should  he  quarrel  with  him  for  honest 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

opinions,  which  did  not  interfere  with  his  attachment  to  the 
sovereign  who  was  his  friend,  or  influence  any  of  his  actions? 

One  of  our  best  and  most  intelligent  artists,  Samuel  F.  B. 
Morse,  president  of  the  National  Academy,  has  mentioned  to 
the  writer  an  anecdote  connected  with  this  subject.  He  says, 
that  on  one  occasion,  when  he  entered  Mr.  West's  painting 
room,  long  after  the  death  of  George  the  Third,  he  found  the 
artist  engaged  in  copying  a  portrait  of  that  king,  and  as  he 
sat  at  his  work,  and  talked  according  to  his  custom,  "this  pic- 
ture," said  he,  "is  remarkable  for  one  circumstance;  the  king 
was  sitting  to  me  for  it,  when  a  messenger  brought  him  the 
Declaration  of  American  Independence."  It  may  be  sup- 
posed, that  the  question  "how  did  he  receive  the  news?"  was 
asked.  "He  was  agitated  at  first,"  said  West,  "then  sat  silent 
and  thoughtful,  at  length,  he  said,  'Well,  if  they  cannot  be 
happy  under  my  government,  I  hope  they  may  not  change  it 
for  a  worse.  I  wish  them  no  ill.' "  If  such  was  George  the  Third, 
we  find  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  his  attachment  to  Benjamin 
West,  with  the  American's  honest  love  of  his  native  land. 

It  is  recorded  of  West,  that  he  used  to  say,  "you  could 
always  tell  the  highest  nobility  at  court,  from  their  profound 
humility  to  the  king.  The  others  kept  at  a  distance,  and  did 
not  seem  to  care  about  it.  The  first  thought  the  higher  they 
raised  the  prince,  the  higher  they  raised  themselves."  This 
is  not  only  a  proof  of  the  painter's  keen  eye  for  observation  of 
manners,  as  well  as  forms  among  mankind,  but  of  a  philosophi- 
cal spirit  and  a  happy  power,  by  which  to  communicate  his 
thoughts  by  words. 

On  the  death  of  Reynolds,  the  choice  of  the  Academy  fell 
on  West  for  their  president,  and  the  king  gave  his  ready  assent. 
The  Royal  Academy  consists  solely  of  artists,  who  elect  their 
own  members  and  officers,  and  manage  their  own  affairs.  The 
king  from  its  establishment  gave  it  his  patronage  and  conferred 
such  titles  on  its  presidents  or  members,  as  are  considered  hon- 
ors in  a  monarchy.  This  circumstance  has  been  used  as  an 
argument  in  support  of  the  patronage  of  a  body  of  merchants, 
lawyers  and  physicians,  and  of  such  patrons  having  control 


ROYAL  ACADEMY  INAUGURAL        75 

over  an  Academy'  of  Fine  Arts  in  this  country,  directing  its 
measures,  and  guiding  its  elections.  Such  absurdities  can  be 
advocated  by  men  otherwise  rational!  and  in  a  republic!  In 
monarchies  men  need  the  patronage  of  those  who  lord  it  over 
them,  and  are  supported  by  their  labors.  In  republics  there  is 
no  protector  but  the  law.  That  spirit  of  benevolence  with 
which  our  bountiful  Creator  has  endowed  us,  and  which, 
breaking  through  the  sordid  crust  of  worldliness  with  which 
we  surround  it,  shines  forth  in  acts  of  kindness,  encourage- 
ment, liberality,  and  philanthropy,  is  not  what  is  meant  by 
patronage  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word;  it  is  the 
opposite  of  that  patronage  which  the  supercilious  presume  they 
are  affording  to  those  they  employ  —  but  it  is  the  real  patron- 
age, which  protects  the  weak  and  encourages  the  meritorious 
by  support  and  advice;  it  is  that  love  of  our  neighbor  which  is 
the  essence  of  religion;  it  is  the  love  of  good,  which  is  the 
essence  of  morality. 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1792,  Mr.  West  delivered  his  inau- 
gural discourse.  His  discourses  were  distinguished  for  prac- 
tical good  sense.  He  advised  the  students  "to  give  heart  and 
soul  wholly  to  art,  to  turn  aside  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the 
left,  but  consider  that  hour  lost  in  which  a  line  had  not  been 
drawn,  nor  a  masterpiece  studied."  "Observe,"  he  said,  "with 
the  same  contemplative  eye  the  landscape,  the  appearance  of 
trees,  figures  dispersed  around,  and  their  aerial  distance  as 
well  as  lineal  forms.  Omit  not  to  observe  the  light  and  shade 
in  consequence  of  the  sun's  rays  being  intercepted  by  clouds 
or  other  accidents.  Let  your  mind  be  familiar  with  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  ocean;  mark  its  calm  dignity  when  undis- 
turbed by  the  winds,  and  all  its  various  states  between  that 
and  its  terrible  sublimity  when  agitated  by  the  tempest. 
Sketch  with  attention  its  foaming  and  winding  coasts,  and 
that  awful  line  which  separates  it  from  the  heavens.  Replen- 
ished with  these  stores,  your  imagination  will  then  come  forth 
as  a  river  collected  from  little  springs  spreads  into  might  and 
majesty.  If  you  aspire  to  excellence  in  your  profession,  you 
must,  like  the  industrious  bee,  survey  the  whole  face  of  nature 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  sip  the  sweet  from  every  flower.  When  thus  enriched, 
lay  up  your  acquisitions  for  future  use,  and  examine  the  great 
works  of  art  to  animate  your  feelings  and  to  excite  your  emu- 
lation. When  you  are  thus  mentally  enriched,  and  your  hand 
practised  to  obey  the  powers  of  your  will,  you  will  then  find 
your  pencils  or  your  chisels  as  magic  wands,  calling  into  view 
creations  of  your  own  to  adorn  your  name  and  country." 

Mr.  West's  advice  was  always  replete  with  practical  good 
sense.  "Don't  shut  yourself  up  from  visitors  when  engaged 
on  any  great  work.  Hear  their  remarks  and  encourage  their 
criticisms.  From  the  various  opinions  something  useful  may 
be  gathered  to  improve  your  picture."  His  practice  corre- 
sponded with  his  advice.  He  would  continue  his  work  though 
surrounded  by  company.  When  Trumbull  was  painting 
under  his  roof  and  direction,  he  consulted  him  as  to  expung- 
ing a  part  of  a  picture  he  was  composing,  in  order  to  substi- 
tute other  figures,  but  the  master  advised  him  rather  to  take  a 
fresh  canvas  and  paint  the  whole  anew.  He  said  he  had 
found  this  the  shortest  and  least  troublesome  way  of  proceeding 
to  alter  a  picture. 

One  of  Mr.  West's  discourses  has  been  illustrated  by  the 
pencil  of  his  successor  in  the  presidency.  A  subscription  hav- 
ing been  raised  in  New  York  to  pay  Lawrence  for  a  full  length 
of  West,  the  portrait  painter  judiciously  chose  to  exhibit  the 
president  in  the  act  of  delivering  a  discourse  on  color  to  the 
students  of  the  academy.  Of  this  discourse,  and  of  Lawrence's 
picture,  Mr.  Leslie  says:  "Your  mention  of  the  rainbow  in 
Lawrence's  picture,  reminds  me  that  Sir  Thomas  intended 
that  picture  to  represent  Mr.  West  in  the  act  of  delivering  a 
lecture,  which  he  once  did  at  Somerset  House  to  the  academi- 
cians and  students,  for  the  purpose  of  explaining  to  them  his 
theory  of  color.  It  was  not  one  of  the  discourses  read  by  him 
as  president,  on  the  occasion  of  delivering  the  medals,  but 
it  was  given  by  his  own  appointment  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  and  was  extemporaneous.  I  was  present  as  a  student, 
and  I  remember  he  exhibited  a  board,  on  which  were  painted 
a  globe  and  a  rainbow.  From  these  he  illustrated  what  he 


PORTRAIT  BY  LAWRENCE  77 

conceived  to  be  the  principle  on  which  the  composition  of  the 
colors  in  Raphael's  Cartoons  was  conducted,  large  copies  of 
which,  by  Thornhill,  were  hanging  round  the  room.  Law- 
rence has  dressed  Mr.  West  in  a  gown  he  only  wore  in  his 
painting  room,  as  more  picturesque  than  a  coat  and  waistcoat. 
I  think  you  will  observe  that  besides  the  rainbow,  he  has  in- 
troduced a  part  of  the  cartoon  of  the  'Death  of  Ananias.' 
It  is  a  pity  that  Sir  Thomas  in  this  fine  portrait  has  exagger- 
ated the  proportions  of  Mr.  West's  figure.  Sir  J.  Reynolds 
would  not  have  done  so.  He  painted  men  as  they  were,  and 
gave  dignity  without  making  them  taller.  The  head,  however, 
isi  very  like,  and  in  Lawrence's  best  style." 

We  fully  concur  in  opinion  with  this  eminent  artist  and  able 
critic.  Lawrence's  biographer,  Williams,  has  roundly  asserted, 
and  Cunningham  has  repeated  the  falsehood,  that  this  por- 
trait of  West  was  presented  by  Sir  Thomas  to  the  American 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts  upon  being  made  a  member.  Now  the 
knight  made  no  present  whatever.  He  was  employed  by  a 
number  of  subscribers,  and  paid  $2000.  The  originator  of 
the  subscription  was  Mr.  Waldo.  The  picture  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  directors  of  the  American  Academy,  and 
they  gave  public  notice  that  no  one  should  copy  it!  !  This 
was  their  way  of  encouraging  the  progress  of  art. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  Cunningham,  when  speaking  of 
West,  always  represents  him  as  a  Quaker,  although  he  has  with 
most  poetical  liberty  made  him  a  soldier,  and  a  captain  leading 
soldiers,  in  an  enterprise  of  danger.  We  are  told,  that  "he 
went  from  his  gallery  in  Newman  Street  to  Windsor,  and  back 
again,  with  the  staid  looks  of  one  of  the  brethren  going  to, 
and  returning  from,  chapel."  Now  this  is  as  purely  fiction  as 
his  captain's  commission,  and  his  military  achievements.  In 
Newman  Street,  or  at  Court,  West  looked  and  dressed  like 
other  gentlemen  of  the  time. 

Cunningham  says,  that  the  father  of  West  was  of  that  family 
settled  at  Long  Crendon,  in  Buckinghamshire,  which  pro- 
duced Colonel  James  West,  the  friend  and  companion  in  arms 
of  John  Hampden.  This  family  were  undoubted  descendants 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  the  Lord  Delaware,  renowned  in  the  wars  of  Edward  the 
Third,  and  the  Black  Prince. 

When  in  consequence  of  West's  being  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  academy,  the  king  offered  him  the  honor  of 
knighthood,  he  respectfully  declined  the  empty  title,  yet  to  this 
day  we  hear  him  called  Sir  Benjamin.  —  Surely  every  American 
will  rejoice  that  he  rejected  the  nickname.  "West"  is  all- 
sufficient  for  his  fame  —  any  addition  would  be  deformity. 

In  an  address  delivered  to  the  students  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design,  New  York,  in  1831,  it  was  said, 

"When  Holbein  visited  England,  Henry  the  Eighth  was 
probably  as  accomplished  a  gentleman,  compared  with  his 
subjects,  as  George  the  Fourth  was  in  comparison  with  the 
Englishmen  of  the  present  day.  Holbein  received  no  mark 
of  honor,  and  the  beastly  tyrant  in  the  all-sufficiency  of  right- 
divine,  power  and  patronage,  prescribed  to  the  artist  the  mode 
in  which  he  should  design  the  portrait  of  his  patron.  The 
painter  probably  fearing  for  his  life,  submitted  to  be  dictated 
to  by  the  barbarian,  and  represented  the  burly  murderer  with 
face  and  body  full  in  front,  as  may  be  still  seen  on  the  covers 
of  the  Harry  the  Eighth  playing  cards.  The  contemporary  of 
this  Harry,  Francis  the  First  of  France,  proved  his  superiority, 
by  the  memorable  speech  to  his  murmuring  nobles,  who  were 
dissatisfied  that  he  preferred  the  society  of  a  painter  to  that 
of  his  courtiers:  'I  can  make  a  thousand  nobles  with  a  word,' 
said  the  heroic  monarch,  'but  only  God  can  make  a  da  Vinci.' 
Francis,  though  perhaps  unknown  to  himself,  felt  an  undefined 
conviction  of  the  folly,  if  not  blasphemy,  of  the  flattery  which 
tells  kings  that  they  are  the  fountains  of  honor.  He  felt, 
perhaps,  as  we  feel,  that  God  alone  is  the  fountain  of  honor, 
as  of  all  good.  While  contemplating  this  reproof  to  the  nobles 
of  France,  so  glorious  to  Francis,  let  us  remember  that  da 
Vinci  was  not  only  an  artist,  but  an  accomplished  and  learned 
man.  The  progress  of  civilization  in  England  is  marked  by 
the  attentions  and  honors  paid  to  Rubens  by  Charles  the  First, 
who,  though  not  as  far  advanced  as  his  subjects  in  the  science 
of  political  justice,  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished  men  of 


KNIGHT  OR  BARONET  79 

his  time.  He  made  the  painter,  Sir  Peter  Paul.  But  the 
painter  was,  and  still  remains,  Rubens.  From  that  time,  it 
appears  to  have  been  a  matter  of  course,  to  confer  the  title  of 
knight  on  the  most  distinguished  painter  in  England,  and  I 
am  proud  that  I  can  say  that  Benjamin  West  was  the  only 
man  who  refused  the  supposed  honor.  When  a  child,  he 
aspired  to  such  distinction,  as  he  then  childishly  thought  it; 
as  a  man,  he  firmly,  though  respectfully,  declined  the  honor 
which  his  friend,  for  such  George  the  Third  was,  intended 
him.  He  knew  that  the  name  of  West  could  receive  no  lustre 
from  a  title." 

This  assertion  respecting  West,  is  thus  noticed  by  the  editor 
of  a  very  respectable  journal,  devoted  to  the  Fine  Arts,  pub- 
lished in  London,  in  which  the  address  is  copied,  "We  honor 
the  principles  of  the  republican  professor,  but  he  is  mistaken 
in  giving  West  credit  for  contemning  honors.  The  knighthood 
was  probably  declined  from  religious  scruples,  but  he  evidently 
had  no  disinclination  to  a  baronetage,  and  had  the  vanity 
to  boast  of  his  descent."  We  have  reason  to  believe  that 
George  the  Third  intended  to  create  West  a  baronet,  and  to  add 
the  means  of  supporting  the  distinction;  and  the  painter  had 
no  objection  to  such  distinction  for  his  family.  Is  it  vanity 
to  be  proud  of  descent  from  the  companion  in  arms  of  Hamp- 
den?  —  of  descent  from  a  leader  of  patriots,  armed  and  bleeding 
in  defence  of  their  country's  rights  and  liberty?  —  of  a  man 
who  risked  fortune  and  life  to  repel  tyranny?  But  where  is 
the  proof  of  West's  boasting?  Certainly  not  in  the  incident 
relative  to  his  picture  of  the  "Order  of  the  Garter."  As  to  the 
religious  scruples,  the  editor  no  doubt,  like  many  others,  views 
West  as  a  Quaker.  But  the  writer  knows  that  the  painter  had 
no  religious  scruples  of  the  kind.  He  was  not  a  Quaker  in 
manner,  dress,  conversation,  or  conduct  after  his  arrival  in 
England,  at  least  we  can  speak  of  our  own  knowledge  after 
the  year  1783,  and  was  as  un-Quaker-like  in  his  appearance 
as  any  man  in  Great  Britain. 

Cunningham  says,  "The  grave  simplicity  of  the  Quaker 
continued  to  the  last  in  the  looks  and  manners  of  the  artist." 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

This  might  induce  any  one  to  picture  West  to  himself  as  a 
broad-brimmed,  drabbed-colored  sectarian  —  but  he  was  noth- 
ing like  it.  His  countenance  was  surrounded  by  the  powder 
and  the  curls,  considered  decorations  at  the  time,  and  his  well- 
formed  limbs  covered  by  garments  of  texture  and  color  such 
as  were  worn  by  other  gentlemen.  His  liberal  mind  did  not 
even  prohibit  the  study  or  practice  of  his  liberal  profession  on 
the  day  set  apart  for  the  cessation  of  labor.  To  study  or 
exercise  his  high  calling  was  no  labor  to  him.  It  was  the 
pleasant  exertion  of  powers  given  by  his  Creator,  to  lift  his 
fellow  creatures  from  the  pits  and  quagmires  of  ignorance. 

We  have  said  that  when  West  was  elected  president  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  George  the  Third  wished  to  confer  the  title 
upon  him  which  his  predecessor  had  borne.  The  Duke  of 
Gloucester  "called  on  West  from  the  king  to  inquire  if  this 
honor  would  be  acceptable.  'No  man,'  said  Benjamin,  'en- 
tertains a  higher  respect  for  political  honors  and  distinctions 
than  myself,  but  I  really  think  I  have  earned  greater  eminence 
by  my  pencil  already  than  knighthood  could  confer  on  me. 
The  chief  value  of  titles  is  to  preserve  in  families  a  respect  for 
those  principles  by  which  such  distinctions  were  originally  ob- 
tained —  but  simple  knighthood  to  a  man  who  is  at  least  as 
well  known  as  he  could  ever  hope  to  be  from  that  honor,  is 
not  a  legitimate  object  of  ambition.  To  myself  then  your 
royal  highness  must  perceive  the  title  could  add  no  dignity, 
and  as  it  would  perish  with  myself,  it  could  add  none  to  my 
family.  But  were  I  possessed  of  fortune,  independent  of  my 
profession,  sufficient  to  enable  my  posterity  to  maintain  the 
rank,  I  think  that,  with  my  hereditary  descent  and  the  station 
I  occupy  among  artists,  a  more  permanent  title  might  become 
a  desirable  object.  As  it  is,  however,  that  cannot  be;  and  I 
have  been  thus  explicit  with  your  royal  highness  that  no  mis- 
conception may  exist  on  the  subject.'  The  duke  took  West 
by  the  hand,  and  said,  'You  have  justified  the  opinion 
which  the  king  has  of  you;  he  will  be  delighted  with  your 
answer.' ' 
^  From  this  we  are  justified  in  saying,  as  in  the  address  to 


LOSS  OF  A  ROYAL  FRIEND  81 

the  students,  that  "he  firmly,  though  respectfully,  declined 
the  honor,  which  his  friend,  for  such  George  the  Third  was, 
intended  him.  He  knew  the  name  of  West  could  receive  no 
lustre  from  a  title."  The  words,  "I  really  think  I  have  earned 
greater  eminence  by  my  pencil  already,  than  knighthood 
could  confer  upon  me,"  appear  very  plainly  to  indicate  the 
painter's  sense  of  the  relative  value  of  his  art,  and  the  honors 
it  is  supposed  princes  can  bestow  by  a  title  not  hereditary  and 
unaccompanied  by  wealth.  He  seems  to  have  said,  "If  my 
posterity  could  be  distinguished  among  men  by  a  mark  or  title 
derived  from  me,  and  wealth  to  support  that  rank  among  their 
countrymen  to  which  wealth  is  supposed  essential,  I  might 
wish  that  the  remembrance  of  that  by  which  the  distinction 
was  obtained  might  be  so  perpetuated.  But  for  myself  a  title 
is  not  a  legitimate  object  of  ambition." 

Mr.  Leslie,  in  one  of  his  letters,  says,  "Raphael  West  told 
me  that  his  father  was  led  to  expect  a  baronetcy  as  soon  as  the 
great  works  he  was  engaged  on  for  the  chapel  of  Windsor 
Castle  were  completed;  but  these  works  were  all  stopped  when 
the  king  lost  his  senses." 

"Mr.  West  was,  as  you  know,  at  all  times  delighted  to 
receive  Americans,  and  no  subject  of  conversation  interested 
him  more  than  the  present  greatness  and  future  prospects  of 
the  United  States.  His  political  opinions  were  known  to  be 
too  liberal  for  the  party  who  governed  England  during  the 
regency  and  the  reign  of  George  IV.  Whether  owing  to  this 
cause  or  not,  he  was  certainly  out  of  favor  with  the  court 
during  all  the  time  of  George  Ill's  long  seclusion  from  the 
world.  It  was  to  the  credit  of  that  monarch,  that  he  never 
allowed  the  political  opinions  of  Mr.  West  to  interfere  with 
his  admiration  of  him  as  an  artist,  and  his  friendship  for  him 
as  a  man.  The  king  died  while  Mr.  West  was  confined  to  his 
bed  with  his  last  illness.  Raphael  West  endeavored  to  keep 
the  newspaper  from  him,  but  he  guessed  the  reason,  and  said, 
"I  am  sure  the  king  is  dead,  and  I  have  lost  the  best  friend  I 
ever  had  in  my  life." 

The  feeling  that  West  ought  to  receive  that  title  which  the 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

vulgar  consider  as  bestowing  honor,  was  and  is  so  prevalent 
both  in  England  and  America,  that  in  both  countries  he  is 
occasionally  called  Sir  Benjamin  to  this  day.  Memes,  in  a 
recent  English  publication  on  the  fine  arts,  calls  him  Sir  Ben- 
jamin; and  Hazlitt,  in  his  book  called  "Conversations  of 
James  Northcote,"  has  this  passage  in  relating  circumstances 
attending  a  trial  in  which  West  was  subpoenaed  as  a  witness. 
"West  was  then  called  upon  to  give  his  evidence,  and  there 
was  immediately  a  lane  made  for  him  to  come  forward,  and 
a  stillness  that  you  could  hear  a  pin  drop.  The  judge  (Lord 
Kenyon)  then  addressed  him:  'Sir  Benjamin,  we  shall  be 
glad  to  hear  your  opinion.'  Mr.  West  answered,  'He  had 
never  received  the  honor  of  a  title  from  his  majesty';  and 
proceeded  to  explain  the  difference  between  the  two  engrav- 
ings which  were  charged  with  being  copies  the  one  of  the 
other,  with  such  clearness  and  knowledge  of  the  art,  though 
in  general  he  was  a  bad  speaker,  that  Lord  Kenyon  said, 
when  he  had  dcme,  'I  suppose,  gentlemen,  you  are  perfectly 
satisfied  —  I  perceive  that  there  is  much  more  in  this  than  I 
had  any  idea  of,  and  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  make  it  more  my 
study  when  I  was  young!' ! 

The  reader  will  please  to  remark  that  it  is  Mr.  Hazlitt  who 
speaks  of  "two  engravings  which  were  charged  with  being 
copies  the  one  of  the  other,"  which  is  phraseology  not  suffi- 
ciently clear  for  our  Yankee  comprehension,  though  we  are 
bound  to  believe  it  good  English,  on  the  authority  of  a  popular 
writer,  and  a  beautiful  London  edition  from  the  hands  of 
Colburn  &  Bentley. 

I  find,  and  my  readers  may  be  pleased  to  know,  that  the 
ancient  crest  of  the  Wests,  Lords  Delaware,  was  a  bird's 
head  argent,  charged  with  a  fess  dancette  sable. 

In  the  answer  West  gave  to  the  offer  of  knighthood,  Cun- 
ningham observes,  "there  was  certainly  very  little  of  the 
Quaker.  Possibly  he  was  not  without  hope  that  the  king  would 
confer  a  baronetcy,  and  an  income  to  support  it,  on  one  who,  to 
the  descent  from  the  lords  of  Delaware,  could  add  such  claims 
of  personal  importance.  No  further  notice,  however,  was 


A  PROTEST  83 

taken  of  the  matter;  he  went  to  the  palace  as  usual,  and  as 
usual  his  reception  was  warm  and  friendly. 

"From  1769  till  1801  West  had  uniformly  received  all 
orders  for  pictures  from  his  majesty  in  person.  They  had 
settled  the  subject  and  price  between  them  without  the  inter- 
vention of  others,  and,  in  addition  to  his  one  thousand  pounds 
a  year  paid  on  account,  he  had  received  whatever  more,  and 
it  was  not  much,  might  be  due  upon  the  pictures  actually 
painted.  A  great  change  was  near.  A  mental  cloud  fell  upon 
the  king,  and  the  artist  was  the  first  to  be  made  sensible  that 
the  sceptre  was  departed  from  his  hand.  The  doors  of  the 
palace,  which  heretofore  had  opened  spontaneously  like  those 
of  Milton's  Paradise,  no  longer  flew  wide  at  his  approach, 
but  turned  on  their  hinges  grating  and  reluctantly.  What  this 
might  mean  he  was  informed  by  Mr.  Wyatt,  the  royal  archi- 
tect, who  called  and  said  he  was  authorized  to  inform  him  that 
the  pictures  painting  for  the  chapel  at  Windsor  must  be  sus- 
pended till  further  orders.  'This  extraordinary  proceeding,' 
says  Gait,  'rendered  the  studies  of  the  best  part  of  the  artist's 
life  useless,  and  deprived  him  of  that  honorable  provision,  the 
fruit  of  his  talents  and  industry,  on  which  he  had  counted  for 
the  repose  of  his  declining  years.  For  some  time  it  affected 
him  deeply,  and  he  was  at  a  loss  what  steps  to  take.  At  last, 
however,  on  reflecting  on  the  marked  friendship  and  favor 
which  the  king  had  always  shown  him,  he  addressed  his  ma- 
jesty a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  of  the  rough 
draft,  being  the  only  one  preserved.'  After  mentioning  the 
message  to  suspend  the  paintings  for  the  chapel,  it  proceeds: 

"Since  1797  I  have  finished  three  pictures,  begun  several 
others,  and  composed  the  remainder  of  the  subjects  for  the 
chapel,  on  the  progress  of  Revealed  Religion.  Those  are  sub- 
jects so  replete  with  dignity  of  character  and  expression,  as 
demanded  the  historian,  the  commentator,  and  the  accom- 
plished painter,  to  bring  them  into  view.  Your  majesty's 
gracious  commands  for  my  pencil  on  that  extensive  subject 
stimulated  my  humble  abilities,  and  I  commenced  the  work 
with  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  Animated  by  your  commands,  I 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

burned  my  midnight  lamp  to  attain  that  polish  which  marks 
my  Scriptural  pictures.  Your  majesty's  zeal  for  religion  and 
love  of  the  elegant  arts  are  known  over  the  civilized  world,  and 
your  protection  of  my  pencil  had  given  it  celebrity,  and  made 
mankind  anxiously  look  for  the  completion  of  the  great  work 
on  Revealed  Religion.  In  the  station  which  I  fill  in  the  Acad- 
emy I  have  been  zealous  in  promoting  merit;  ingenious  artists 
have  received  my  ready  aid,  and  my  galleries  and  my  purse 
have  been  opened  to  their  studies  and  their  distresses.  The 
breath  of  envy  or  the  whisper  of  detraction  never  defiled  my 
lips,  nor  the  want  of  morality  my  character;  and  your  majesty's 
virtues  and  those  of  her  majesty  have  been  the  theme  of  my 
admiration  for  many  years. 

'  'I  feel  with  great  concern  the  suspension  of  the  work  on 
Revealed  Religion  —  if  it  is  meant  to  be  permanent,  myself 
and  the  fine  arts  have  much  to  lament.  To  me  it  will  be  ruin- 
ous, and  it  will  damp  the  hope  of  patronage  in  the  more  re- 
fined departments  of  painting.  I  have  this  consolation,  that 
in  the  thirty-five  years  during  which  my  pencil  has  been 
honored  with  your  commands,  a  great  body  of  historical  and 
Scriptural  works  have  been  placed  in  the  churches  and  palaces 
of  the  kingdom.  Their  professional  claims  may  be  humble, 
but  similar  works  have  not  been  executed  before  by  any  of 
your  majesty's  subjects.  And  this  I  will  assert,  that  your 
commands  and  patronage  were  not  laid  on  a  lazy  or  an  un- 
grateful man,  or  an  undutiful  subject.' 

"To  this  letter,  written  on  the  26th  of  September,  1801, 
and  carried  to  the  court  by  Wyatt,  West  received  no  answer. 
On  his  majesty's  recovery,  he  sought  and  obtained  a  private 
audience.  The  king  had  not  been  made  acquainted  with  the 
order  for  suspending  the  works,  nor  had  he  received  the  letter. 
'Go  on  with  your  work,  West,'  said  the  king,  kindly,  'go  on 
with  the  pictures,  and  I  will  take  care  of  you.'  He  shook  him 
by  the  hand  and  dismissed  him.  'And  this?'  says  Gait,  'was 
the  last  interview  he  was  permitted  to  have  with  his  early  and 
constant,  and  to  him  truly  royal,  patron.  But  he  continued 
to  execute  the  pictures,  and,  in  the  usual  quarterly  payments, 


DETRACTORS  85 

received  his  £1000  per  annum  till  his  majesty's  final  superan- 
nuation; when,  without  any  intimation  whatever,  on  calling  to 
receive  it,  he  was  told  that  it  had  been  stopped,  and  that  the 
paintings  for  the  chapel,  of  Revealed  Religion,  had  been  sus- 
pended. He  submitted  in  silence  —  he  neither  remonstrated 
nor  complained.' 

"The  story  of  his  dismissal  from  court  was  spread  with 
many  aggravations;  and  the  malevolence  of  enemies  which  his 
success  had  created  —  there  are  always  such  reptiles  —  was 
gratified  by  the  circulation  of  papers  detailing  an  account  of 
the  prices  which  the  fortunate  painter  had  received  for  his 
works  from  the  king.  The  hand  which  had  drawn  up  this 
injurious  document  neglected  to  state  that  the  sum  of  thirty- 
four  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  pounds  was 
earned  in  the  course  of  thirty-three  laborious  years:  and  the 
public,  looking  only  to  the  sum  at  the  bottom  of  the  page, 
imagined  that  West  must  have  amassed  a  fortune.  This  no- 
tion was  dispelled  by  an  accurate  statement  of  work  done  and 
money  received,  with  day  and  date,  signed  with  the  artist's 
name,  and  accompanied  by  a  formal  declaration  of  its  truth; 
a  needless  addition,  for  all  who  knew  anything  of  West  knew 
him  to  be  one  of  the  most  honorable  of  men." 

This  disgraceful  spirit,  originating  in  disappointment,  envy, 
and  all  the  base  feelings  which  ignorance  of  our  true  interests, 
and  the  imperfections  of  our  social  systems  engender  in  the 
bosoms  of  men,  may  be  traced  in  the  publications  of  the  days 
in  which  West  lived;  and  unfortunately  some  of  the  slanders 
are  embalmed  in  the  works  of  genius,  and  will  descend  to  pos- 
terity. Wolcott  strove  to  pull  down  West,  that  Opie  might  be 
exalted  on  his  ruins;  and  the  talents  of  the  poet  may  preserve 
the  falsehoods  which  were  harmless  at  the  time,  notwithstand- 
ing the  popularity  of  Peter  Pindar.  The  infamous  Williams,  as 
Anthony  Pasquin,  shot  his  feeble  arrows  against  West,  and 
against  all  who  were  distinguished  for  talents  or  virtue.  Fuseli, 
the  caricaturist  of  nature,  was  the  caricaturist  of  West.  Hazlitt 
relates  the  sarcasms  of  Northcote,  a  pupil  of  Reynolds  —  in 
short,  it  is  painful  to  observe,  that  (notwithstanding  West's 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

acknowledged  purity  of  moral  character,  active  benevolence, 
simplicity  of  manner,  great  kindness  to  all  artists  who  sought 
his  instruction,  unwearied  readiness  to  assist  and  advise,  equa- 
bility of  temper  that  dulness  could  not  disturb,  or  impertinence 
ruffle)  such  a  man  was  a  butt  for  the  shafts  of  envy,  malice, 
and  uncharitableness,  pointed  by  men  of  learning,  wit,  and 
genius. 

Of  the  very  many  artists  with  whom  we  have  associated,  who 
had  known  Mr.  West  personally,  we  never  heard  but  one 
speak  otherwise  of  him,  except  as  of  a  benefactor  and  friend, 
and  that  one  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  more  than  a 
father  to  him  for  thirty  years.  Mr.  Allston,  in  a  letter  before 
us,  says,  he  "received  me  with  the  greatest  kindness.  I  shall 
never  forget  his  benevolent  smile  when  he  took  me  by  the 
hand;  it  is  still  fresh  in  my  memory,  linked  with  the  last  of 
like  kind  which  accompanied  the  farewell  shake  of  the  hand 
when  I  took  leave  of  him  in  1818.  His  gallery  was  open  to 
me  at  all  times,  and  his  advice  always  ready  and  kindly  given. 
He  was  a  man  overflowing  with  the  milk  of  human  kindness. 
If  he  had  enemies,  I  doubt  if  he  owed  them  to  any  other  cause 
than  this  rare  virtue,  which  (alas  for  human  nature!)  is  too 
often  deemed  cause  sufficient." 

"Whenever,"  says  the  eloquent  and  judicious  Verplanck, 
"the  historical  inquirer  can  thus  efface  the  stains  left  by  time 
or  malice  upon  the  fame  of  the  wise  and  good,  he  effects  many 
of  the  grandest  objects  of  history." 

Fuseli  writes  to  Roscoe:  "  'There  are,'  says  Mr.  West,  'but 
two  ways  of  working  successfully,  that  is,  lastingly,  in  this 
country,  for  an  artist  —  the  one  is  to  paint  for  the  king;  the 
other,  to  mediate  a  scheme  of  your  own.'  The  first  he  has 
monopolized;  in  the  second  he  is  not  idle:  witness  the  prints 
from  English  history,  and  the  late  advertisement  of  allegorical 
prints  to  be  published  from  his  designs  by  Bartolozzi.  In  imi- 
tation of  so  great  a  man,  I  am  determined  to  lay,  hatch,  and 
crack  an  egg  for  myself  too,  if  I  can."  By  marking  the  words 
"so  great  a  man"  in  italics,  the  envious  Swiss  has  only  marked 
his  own  irritation  at  seeing  the  prosperity  and  popularity  of  the 


VISIT  TO  PARIS  87 

amiable  American.  It  reminds  us  of  his  single  vote  against  the 
otherwise  unanimous  election  for  West  as  president  of  the 
Academy.  Fuseli  did  "lay,  hatch,  and  crack  an  egg"  for  him- 
self: he  produced  his  splendid  Milton  Gallery,  which  totally 
failed,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  Academy  to  support 
it,  who  not  only  gave  it  the  high  encomiums  it  deserved,  but 
got  up  a  dinner  in  the  gallery  at  fifteen  shillings  a  head  for 
the  painter's  benefit.  The  pictures  were  principally  pur- 
chased by  the  painter's  private  friends,  to  help  him  out  of 
the  undeserved  difficulties  his  project  had  generated.  The 
reader  will  see  more  on  this  subject  in  our  biography  of  Allston, 
a  man  who  loved  and  was  loved  by  West,  and  found  ample 
encouragement  for  his  pencil  in  London,  although  he  did 
not  paint  for  a  king  or  bespatter  the  king's  painter  with 
scurrilous  abuse,  miscalled  wit.  By  no  means  meaning  to 
deny  that  Fuseli  had  wit;  but  when  wit  is  prompted  by  envy 
and  jealousy,  it  loses  its  character,  and  takes  the  ugly  features 
of  the  demons  who  incite  it.  Real  wit  is  always  accompanied 
by  truth,  if  not  by  good  nature.  Fuseli  had  extraordinary 
talents  as  a  man  independent  of  his  art,  and  was  perhaps  the 
most  learned  of  modern  painters.  But  the  enmity  of  Fuseli 
and  Barry  toward  each  other,  though  both  eminently  high  in 
their  profession,  the  hostility  of  both  against  West,  and  of 
Barry  towards  Reynolds,  with  the  jealousy  and  envy  at  one 
time  displayed  generally  against  West  —  form  a  disgusting 
portion  of  the  history  of  English  art. 

That  armistice  which  was  denominated  the  Peace  of  Amiens 
took  place  in  1802,  when  West  was  dismissed  from  employ- 
ment by  the  unworthy  successor  of  George  the  Third.  The 
continent  of  Europe  had  been  virtually  shut  against  the  Eng- 
lish for  ten  years,  and  all  ranks  rushed  to  Paris,  with  curiosity 
on  tiptoe  to  see  the  wonders  there  accumulated  by  the  great 
military  robber,  and  the  no  less  wonder,  the  robber  himself. 
That  the  president  of  the  Royal  Academy  should  seize  this 
opportunity  to  view  in  one  great  collection  those  gems,  which 
in  his  youth  he  had  studied  in  their  peaceful  homes,  from 
whence  the  spoiler  had  dragged  them,  was  to  be  expected.  He 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

visited  Paris,  and  took  with  him  his  sublime  composition,  on  a 
small  scale,  of  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse."  His  reception  was 
cordial,  and  the  admiration  of  his  work  enthusiastic.  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham says,  "  Minister  after  minister,  and  artist  after  artist, 
from  the  accomplished  Talleyrand,  and  the  subtle  Fouche,  to 
the  enthusiastic  Denon,  and  ferocious  David  gathered  around 
him,  and  talked  with  unbounded  love  of  historical  painting 
and  its  influence  on  mankind."  All  this  is  attributed  by  the 
Scottish  biographer  to  "wily"  politics,  hypocrisy  and  flattery. 
We  believe  men  of  all  civilized  nations  at  present  pretty  much 
the  same,  and  the  professions  of  a  Frenchman  worth  as  much 
as  those  of  a  Briton,  south  or  north.  That  West  was  pleased 
with  his  reception  among  a  gallant  and  polished  people,  is 
certain.  He  had  two  or  more  interviews,  as  we  are  informed, 
with  the  First  Consul ;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  at  this 
time,  Bonaparte  had  restored  prosperity  to  distracted  France, 
and  peace  to  Europe.  That  although  a  military  robber,  he  was 
only  more  successful,  not  more  atrocious  than  other  military 
robbers  who  have  been  glorified  by  deluded  mankind.  That 
he  had  not  divorced  a  faithful  wife.  That  he  had  not  developed 
the  enormous  plans  of  self-idolatry,  which  overthrew  the  hopes 
of  the  friends  of  man,  and  deluged  the  world  in  blood.  West 
saw  in  him  a  great  man,  and  an  interesting  gentleman,  who  had 
taste  for,  and  knowledge  of  the  arts,  in  which  the  painter 
delighted  and  excelled.  He  saw  him,  and  was  pleased.  It  is 
said,  that  he  ventured  to  recommend  to  Napoleon,  the  example 
of  Washington,  if  he  did  so,  it  is  a  greater  proof  of  his  simplicity 
than  any  Gait  or  Cunningham  have  recorded. 

Among  the  distinguished  visitors  of  Paris,  were  Charles 
Fox  and  Sir  Francis  Baring.  West  met  them  in  the  Louvre, 
and  expatiated  upon  the  advantages  which  the  arts  would 
derive  from  the  circumstance  of  the  chefs  d'ceuvre  of  the  world 
being  collected  in  one  place. 

"He  concluded  by  pointing  out  the  propriety,  even  in  a 
mercantile  point  of  view,  of  encouraging  to  a  sevenfold  extent 
the  higher  departments  of  art  in  England.  The  prospect  of 
commercial  advantages  pleased  Baring,  and  Fox  said,  with 


JOHN  J.  SEDLEY 
BY  BENJAMIN  WEST 

1802 
From  the  collection  of  Mr.  Walter  Jenoin 


VACILLATING  ACADEMICIANS  89 

much  frankness,  and  with  that  sincerity  which  lasts  at  least  for 
the  moment,  '  I  have  been  rocked  in  the  cradle  of  politics,  and 
never  before  was  so  much  struck  with  the  advantages,  even  in 
a  political  bearing,  of  the  fine  arts,  to  the  prosperity  as  well 
as  to  the  renown  of  a  kingdom;  and  I  do  assure  you,  Mr. 
West,  if  ever  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  influence  our  government 
to  promote  the  arts,  the  conversation  which  we  have  had  today 
shall  not  be  forgotten.'  They  parted,  and  West  returned  to 
England. 

"Old  age  was  now  coming  on  him;  but  his  gray  hairs  were 
denied  the  repose  which  a  life  of  virtue  and  labor  deserved." 
So  says  his  biographer,  Cunningham. 

The  academicians  who  had  bowed  to  the  president,  while 
he  was  the  favored  of  the  court,  now  assailed  him  in  his  declin- 
ing and  unprotected  age.  West  retired  from  the  president's 
chair,  and  Wyatt  was  elected  in  his  stead.  "This  distinction!" 
says  Cunningham,  "the  court  architect  had  merited  by  no 
works  which  could  be  weighed  in  the  balance  with  the  worst 
of  his  predecessor's;  and  West  persuaded  himself  that  his  own 
splendid  reception  in  France  had  been  at  the  root  of  all  the 
evil." 

Mr.  Cunningham  goes  on  to  say,  "In  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, the  academy  became  weary  of  Wyatt,  displaced  him,  and 
restored  the  painter,  by  a  vote  which  may  be  called  unanimous; 
since  there  was  only  one  dissenting  member  —  supposed  to  be 
Fuseli  —  who  put  in  the  name  of  Mrs.  Moser  for  president. 
Ladies  were  at  that  period  permitted  to  be  members,  and  the 
jester  no  doubt  meant  to  insinuate  that  a  shrewd  old  woman 
was  a  fit  rival  for  West." 

So  much  for  Mr.  Fuseli.  West,  though  he  had  been  deserted 
by  the  court  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  artists  of  the  Royal 
Academy,  never  deserted  himself.  Those  who  had  driven  him 
from  the  president's  chair,  we  hope,  were  ashamed  of  their 
dirty  work.  The  venerable  artist  regained  his  place  at  the  head 
of  the  academy  (he  was  always  at  the  head  of  all  its  artists), 
and  as  president  exerted  himself  for  the  benefit  of  the  arts, 
until  death  closed  his  virtuous  and  useful  career. 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Martin  Archer  Shee,  Esq.,  in  his  excellent  work,  "Elements 
of  Art,"  thus  speaks  of  West: 

"The  claims  of  the  present  president  of  the  academy  are 
not  more  generally  understood  than  those  of  his  predecessor, 
and  his  merits  have  been  as  inadequately  appreciated  as  they 
have  been  rewarded  by  the  public.  Notwithstanding  the  large 
space  which  he  fills  hi  his  art,  and  although  his  brethren  have 
justly  and  honorably  placed  him  at  their  head,  he  has  good 
ground  of  complaint,  against  the  undiscriminating  criticism 
of  his  day,  and  may  be  said  to  be,  in  a  great  degree,  '  defrauded 
of  his  fame.'  Posterity  will  see  him  in  his  merits  as  well  as 
his  defects;  will  regard  him  as  a  great  artist,  whose  powers  place 
him  high  in  the  scale  of  elevated  art;  whose  pencil  has  main- 
tained with  dignity  the  historic  pretensions  of  his  age,  and 
whose  best  compositions  would  do  honor  to  any  school  or 
country." 

The  same  artist  and  author  thus  speaks  of  the  encourage- 
ment afforded  by  the  public  to  this  great  painter: 

"What  will  be  thought  of  the  protection  and  encourage- 
ment afforded  to  genius  in  this  great  and  wealthy  empire, 
when  it  is  stated,  that  the  unremitting  exertions  of  this  distin- 
guished artist,  in  the  higher  department  of  painting,  during 
the  period  of  forty-eight  years  (almost  half  a  century),  have 
not,  exclusive  of  his  majesty's  patronage,  produced  to  him  the 
sum  of  six  thousand  pounds!  !  !" 

He  endeavored  "to  form  a  national  association  for  the 
encouragement  of  works  of  dignity  and  importance,  and  was 
cheered  with  the  assurance  of  ministerial,  if  not  royal,  patron- 
age. But  many  of  those  who  countenanced  the  design  were 
cautious  and  timid  men,  deficient  in  that  lofty  enthusiasm 
necessary  for  success  in  grand  undertakings,  and  whose  souls 
were  not  large  enough  to  conceive  and  consummate  a  plan 
worthy  of  the  rank  and  genius  of  the  nation.  The  times,  too, 
were  unfavorable:  Englishmen  had  in  those  days  need  enough 
to  think  of  other  matters  than  paintings  and  statues.  Mr. 
Pitt,  who  had  really  seemed  disposed  to  lend  his  aid  to  this 
new  association,  soon  died.  Mr.  Fox,  who  succeeded  him, 


RISE  OF   ENGLISH  ART  91 

declared,  'As  soon  as  I  am  firmly  seated  in  the  saddle,  1 
shall  redeem  the  promise  I  made  in  the  Louvre '  —  but  he  also 
was  soon  lost  to  his  country.  The  pistol  of  an  assassin  pre- 
vented Percival  from  taking  into  consideration  a  third  memo- 
rial, which  West  had  drawn  up,  and  the  president  at  last  relin- 
quished the  project  hi  despair."  Yet  his  efforts  were  not 
unavailing  as  the  British  Institution  was  formed  out  of  the 
wreck  of  his  magnificent  plan. 

In  the  year  1809,  Mr.  West,  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  early 
pupils  (Charles  Willson  Peale),  thus  expresses  himself: 

"When  I  was  in  Italy  in  the  year  1760,  the  stupendous  pro- 
ductions in  the  fine  arts  which  are  in  that  country,  rushed  on 
my  feelings  with  their  impetuous  novelty  and  grandeur;  and 
their  progress  through  the  world  from  the  earliest  period,  ar- 
rested my  attention  when  I  discovered  they  had  accompanied 
empire,  as  shade  does  the  body  when  it  is  most  illuminated, 
and  that  they  had  declined  both  in  Greece  and  Italy,  as  the 
ancient  splendor  of  those  countries  passed  away. 

"In  England  I  found  the  fine  arts,  as  connected  with  paint- 
ing and  sculpture,  had  not  taken  root;  but  that  there  were  great 
exertions  making  by  the  artists  to  prepare  the  soil,  and  sow 
the  seeds.  It  was  those  artists  who  invited  me  to  appear 
among  them,  with  a  few  essays  of  my  historical  compositions 
in  their  annual  exhibitions  of  painting,  sculpture  and  archi- 
tecture. Those  exhibitions  became  an  object  of  attraction  to 
men  of  taste  in  the  fine  arts;  the  young  sovereign  was  inter- 
ested in  their  prosperity;  and  the  artists  were  by  his  royal  char- 
acter raised  into  the  dignity,  the  independence,  and,  as  it  were, 
the  municipal  permanency  of  a  body  corporate;  in  which  body 
I  found  myself  a  member,  and  a  director;  but  party  and  jeal- 
ousy in  two  or  three  years  interrupted  the  harmony  and  finally 
dissolved  that  society.  At  this  period  his  majesty  was  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  signify  his  commands  to  four  artists,  to  form 
a  plan  for  a  royal  academy,  in  which  number  I  had  the  honor 
to  be  included.  His  majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  ap- 
prove the  plan,  and  commanded  it  to  be  carried  into  effect. 
Thus  commenced  the  institution  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Arts  in  London.  An  institution  of  proud  importance  to  the 
sovereign;  and  to  this,  as  a  manufacturing  country,  of  more  real 
and  solid  advantage  than  would  have  been  the  discovery  of 
gold  and  silver  mines  within  her  earth;  as  it  taught  delinea- 
tion to  her  ingenious  men,  by  which  they  were  instructed  to 
give  taste  to  every  species  of  manufactories,  to  polish  rudeness 
into  elegance,  and  soften  massiveness  into  grace;  and  which 
raised  the  demand  for  them  to  an  eminence  unknown  before  in 
all  the  markets  of  civilized  nations  throughout  the  world. 

"At  that  time  the  breast  of  every  professional  man  glowed 
with  the  warmth  and  energy  of  genius,  at  the  establishment  of 
the  Royal  Academy,  and  at  the  pleasing  prospect  it  held  out  in 
the  higher  department  of  art  —  historical  painting.  The  experi- 
ment was  then  to  be  made,  whether  there  was  genius  in  the 
country  for  that  department  of  art,  and  patronage  to  nourish 
and  stimulate  it.  The  sovereign,  the  artist,  and  a  few  gentle- 
men of  distinguished  taste  were  solicitous  for  its  success.  With 
respect  to  genius,  I  have  to  speak  from  observation,  that  the 
distinguished  youths  who  have  passed  in  review  before  me 
since  the  establishment  of  the  academy,  in  the  three  depart- 
ments of  art  which  constitute  its  views,  would  have  been  found 
equal  to  attain  unrivalled  eminence  in  them:  and  I  know  of 
no  people  since  the  Greeks  so  likely  to  attain  excellence  in 
the  arts  as  the  people  of  England;  if  the  same  spirit  and  love 
for  them  were  diffused  and  cherished  among  them,  as  it  was 
among  the  subjects  in  the  Grecian  states. 

"Your  communication  respecting  your  son  being  about  to 
embark  again  for  France,  and  to  study  painting,  and  collect 
the  portraits  of  eminent  men  in  that  country  as  well  as  in 
other  parts  of  Europe,  gives  me  sincere  pleasure;  I  honor  his 
enterprise;  but  I  hope  he  will,  when  surrounded  by  the  great 
examples  which  are  now  at  Paris,  of  Grecian  and  Italian  art, 
I  hope  he  will  direct  his  mind  to  what  are  their  real,  and  im- 
mutable excellencies,  and  reflect  upon  the  dignity  which  they 
give  to  man,  and  to  the  countries  where  they  were  produced. 
Although  I  am  friendly  to  portraying  eminent  men,  I  am  not 
friendly  to  the  indiscriminate  waste  of  genius  in  portrait  paint- 


LOFTY  VIEWS  OF  ART  93 

ing;  and  I  do  hope  that  your  son  will  ever  bear  in  his  mind, 
that  the  art  of  painting  has  powers  to  dignify  man,  by  trans- 
mitting to  posterity  his  noble  actions,  and  his  mental  powers, 
to  be  viewed  in  those  invaluable  lessons  of  religion,  love  of 
country,  and  morality;  such  subjects  are  worthy  of  the  pencil, 
they  are  worthy  of  being  placed  in  view  as  the  most  instructive 
records  to  a  rising  generation.  And  as  an  artist,  I  hope  he 
will  bear  in  his  mind,  that  correctness  of  outline,  and  the  just- 
ness of  character  in  the  human  figure  are  eternal;  all  other 
points  are  variable,  all  other  points  are  in  a  degree  subordi- 
nate and  indifferent  —  such  as  color,  manners  and  costume : 
they  are  the  marks  of  various  nations:  but  the  form  of  man 
has  been  fixed  by  eternal  laws,  and  must  therefore  be  immut- 
able. It  was  to  those  points  that  the  philosophical  taste  of  the 
Greek  artists  was  directed;  and  then*  figures  produced  on  those 
principles  leave  no  room  for  improvement,  their  excellencies 
are  eternal." 


CHAPTER  V. 

BENJAMIN  WEST  —  Concluded. 

THE  undaunted  painter  now  between  sixty  and  seventy  years 
of  age,  commenced  a  series  of  great  works  solely  relying  upon 
himself  for  their  success.  The  first  he  exhibited  to  the  public 
was  his  "Christ  Healing  the  Sick,"  designed  as  a  present  to 
the  hospital  of  the  metropolis  of  Pennsylvania,  his  native  state. 
A  noble  memorial  of  his  love  to  the  country  of  his  birth,  and 
her  institutions.  Not  given  to  "aid  in  creating  a  hospital  for 
the  sick  in  his  native  town,"  as  his  biographer  has  said,  for 
Philadelphia  was  not  his  native  town,  and  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital  in  that  city,  had  been  built  and  in  operation  for  half  a 
century. 

When  the  "Healing  of  the  Sick"  was  exhibited  in  London, 
the  rush  to  see  it  was  very  great,  and  the  praise  it  obtained 
very  high.  "The  British  Institution,"  says  his  English  biog- 
rapher, "offered  him  three  thousand  guineas  for  the  work: 
West  accepted  the  offer,  for  he  was  far  from  being  rich  —  but 
on  condition  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  make  a  copy,  with 
alterations."  This  copy,  with  not  only  alterations,  but  an 
additional  group,  was  received  by  the  trustees  of  the  hospital, 
and  placed  in  a  building  erected  according  to  a  plan  trans- 
mitted by  the  donor,  in  which  it  stands  a  monument  to  his 
honor  as  a  man  and  an  artist.  The  receipts  from  the  exhibition 
in  the  first  year  after  its  arrival  were  four  thousand  dollars. 

We  are  sorry  to  record  anything  discreditable,  relative  to 
any  man  or  body  of  men,  but  we  will  not  hide  any  transaction 
connected  with  the  arts  or  artists  of  our  country  which  appears 
to  us  necessary  or  belonging  to  the  historical  memoirs  we  have 
undertaken.  We  know  that  Mr.  West,  when  he  made  this 
noble  present  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  intended  that  it 
should  be  free  to  students  and  artists,  for  he  justly  thought 

94 


"HEALING  IN  THE  TEMPLE"  95 

that  as  a  model,  it  would  promote  the  progress  of  painting  in 
his  native  country.  He  expressed  this  wish  and  intention  to 
the  managers  of  the  hospital,  but  it  has  not  been  complied  with. 
It  is  the  only  exhibition  of  painting  in  the  United  States 
where  money  is  received  from  the  artist  or  the  student.  Yet 
this  is  the  free  gift  of  an  American  artist,  who  delighted  in 
pointing  the  way  to  excellence  in  the  arts.  We,  while  on  the 
subject,  will  object  to  these  managers,  that  they  do  not  give 
due  credit  to  the  picture  presented  to  them,  by  their  statements 
of  receipts  and  expenditures  in  its  exhibition.  They  charge 
against  the  receipts  from  the  picture  $14,000  for  the  building 
in  which  it  is  placed,  as  if  that  building  was  appropriated  to 
that  use  alone,  whereas  it  is  used  for  other  purposes  in  such 
manner  and  proportion,  as  ought  to  reduce  the  sum  to  one- 
half.  We  hope  these  gentlemen  will  in  both  these  respects  do 
justice  to  their  benefactor. 

"It  ought  to  be  known,  if  it  is  not,"  says  Mr.  Leslie,  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  us  from  West  Point,  "that  at  the  time  Mr. 
West  made  his  noble  present  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  his 
pecuniary  affairs  were  by  no  means  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
He  was  blamed  by  those  who  did  not  know  this,  for  selling  the 
first  picture  he  painted  for  them;  but  he  redeemed  his  pledge 
to  them,  and  I  can  bear  witness  of  his  great  satisfaction,  when 
he  heard  that  the  exhibition  of  it  had  so  much  benefited  the 
institution.  He  had  begun  his  own  portrait  to  present  to  the 
hospital.  It  was  a  whole  length  on  a  mahogany  panel;  he 
employed  me  to  dead  color  it  for  him.  He  had  also  made 
a  small  sketch  of  a  picture  of  Dr.  Franklin,  to  present  with  it. 
The  doctor  was  seated  on  the  clouds,  surrounded  by  naked 
boys,  and  the  experiment  of  proving  lightning  and  electricity 
to  be  the  same  was  alluded  to." 

The  success  of  the  "Healing  in  the  Temple,"  encouraged  the 
painter,  and  he  produced  in  rapid  succession,  *'  'The  Descent 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  Christ  at  the  Jordan,'  ten  feet  by  fourteen 
—  'The  Crucifixion,'  sixteen  feet  by  twenty-eight  —  'The 
Ascension,'  twelve  feet  by  eighteen  —  and  'The  Inspiration  of 
St.  Peter,'  of  corresponding  extent."  The  great  painting  of 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"Christ  Rejected,"  and  the  still  more  sublime  "Death  on  the 
Pale  Horse,"  enlarged  and  altered  from  the  picture,  which  he 
had  carried  to  Paris  in  1802. 

"Domestic  sorrow  mingled  with  professional  disappoint- 
ment. Elizabeth  Shewall  —  for  more  than  fifty  years  his  kind 
and  tender  companion  —  died  on  the  6th  of  December,  1817, 
and  West,  seventy-nine  years  old,  felt  that  he  was  soon  to  fol- 
low. His  wife  and  he  had  loved  each  other  some  sixty  years 
-  had  seen  their  children's  children  —  and  the  world  had  no 
compensation  to  offer.  He  began  to  sink,  and  though  still  to 
be  found  at  his  easel,  his  hand  had  lost  its  early  alacrity.  It 
was  evident  that  all  this  was  to  cease  soon;  that  he  was  suffer- 
ing a  slow,  and  a  general,  and  easy  decay.  The  venerable 
old  man  sat  in  his  study  among  his  favorite  pictures,  a  breath- 
ing image  of  piety  and  contentment,  awaiting  calmly  the  hour 
of  his  dissolution.  Without  any  fixed  complaint,  his  mental 
faculties  unimpaired,  his  cheerfulness  uneclipsed,  and  with 
looks  serene  and  benevolent,  he  expired  llth  March,  1820, 
in  the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  beside 
Reynolds,  Opie,  and  Barry,  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  The 
pall  was  borne  by  noblemen,  ambassadors,  and  academicians; 
his  two  sons  and  grandson  were  chief  mourners;  and  sixty 
coaches  brought  up  the  splendid  procession." 

Benjamin  West  was  not  (as  his  biographer  has  asserted) 
above  the  middle  size.  He  was  about  five  feet  eight  inches  in 
height.  Well  made  and  athletic.  His  complexion  was  re- 
markably fair.  His  eye  was  piercing.  Of  his  manners  and 
disposition  we  have  already  spoken,  but  may  be  allowed  to 
relate  an  anecdote  from  one  of  his  pupils.  He  had  frequently 
a  levee  of  young  artists  asking  advice  on  their  productions, 
and  it  was  given  always  with  encouraging  amenity.  On  one 
occasion  a  Camera  Lucida,  then  a  new  thing,  had  been  left 
with  him  for  inspection:  it  was  the  first  he  had  ever  seen,  and 
Stuart  coming  in,  West  showed  it  to  him,  and  explained  its 
use.  Stuart's  hand  was  always  tremulous.  He  took  the  deli- 
cate machine  for  examination,  let  it  fall,  and  it  was  dashed  to 
fragments  on  the  hearth.  Stuart  stood  with  his  back  to  West, 


H 

en 

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o 

a 


525  B 

O    * 

f 

w 
Q 


DEATH  OF  WEST  97 

looking  at  the  wreck  in  despair.  After  a  short  silence,  the 
benevolent  man  said,  "Well,  Stuart,  you  may  as  well  pick  up 
the  pieces."  This  was  of  course  in  early  life,  but  old  age  made 
no  change  in  him.  Mr.  Leslie  says,  "Mr.  West's  readiness 
to  give  advice  and  assistance  to  artists  is  well  known.  Every 
morning  before  he  began  to  work  he  received  all  who  wished 
to  see  him.  A  friend  of  mine  called  at  his  house  the  day  after 
his  death.  His  old  and  faithful  servant,  Robert,  opened  the 
door,  and  said,  with  a  melancholy  shake  of  the  head,  "Ah,  sir! 
where  will  they  go  now?"  And  well  might  he  say  so;  for 
although  I  can  affirm  with  truth,  that  I  know  of  no  eminent 
artist  in  London,  who  is  not  ready  to  communicate  instruction 
to  any  of  his  brethren  who  need  it,  yet  at  that  time  there  was 
certainly  no  one  so  accessible  as  Mr.  West,  and  I  think  I  may 
say  so  admirably  qualified  to  give  advice  in  every  branch  of 
the  art. 

Ninety-eight  of  his  pictures  were  exhibited  in  a  gallery  de- 
signed by  himself,  and  erected  by  his  heirs. 

Cunningham  says,  "In  his  'Death  on  the  Pale  Horse/  and 
more  particularly  in  the  sketch  of  that  picture,  he  has  more 
than  approached  the  masters  and  princes  of  the  calling.  It  is, 
indeed,  irresistibly  fearful  to  see  the  triumphant  march  of  the 
terrific  phantom,  and  the  dissolution  of  all  that  earth  is  proud 
of  beneath  his  tread.  War  and  peace,  sorrow  and  joy,  youth 
and  age,  all  who  love  and  all  who  hate,  seem  planet-struck. 
The  'Death  of  Wolfe,'  too,  is  natural  and  noble,  and  the  'Indian 
Chief,'  like  the  Oneida  warrior  of  Campbell, 

'  A  stoic  of  the  woods,  a  man  without  a  tear,' 

was  a  happy  thought.  The  'Battle  of  La  Hogue'  I  have 
heard  praised  as  the  best  historic  picture  of  the  British  school, 
by  one  not  likely  to  be  mistaken,  and  who  would  not  say  what 
he  did  not  feel.  Many  of  his  single  figures,  also,  are  of  a  high 
order.  There  is  a  natural  grace  in  the  looks  of  some  of  his 
women  which  few  painters  have  ever  excelled." 

This  is  high  and  just  praise,  and  if  all  his  pictures  do  not 
deserve  equal,  it  by  no  means  lessens  the  claim  of  the  master. 
If  he  had  only  painted  his  earliest  and  his  latest  works,  they 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

would  entitle  him  to  immortality,  and  a  place  higher  than  any 
successor  has  yet  reached. 

West  was  generally  happy,  that  is  to  say  judicious,  in  his 
choice  of  subject. 

Few  painters  selected  subjects  with  so  much  judgment  as 
Benjamin  West.  The  number  of  his  works  creates  almost  as 
much  admiration  as  their  excellence.  The  Old  and  the  New 
Testament  employed  his  pencil,  in  a  series  of  pictures  em- 
bracing almost  every  prominent  event,  from  the  reception  of 
the  law  by  Moses  to  the  opening  of  the  seals  —  besides  many 
subjects  not  strictly  in  the  series,  from  the  history  of  the  patri- 
archs. "  The  Healing  in  the  Temple,"  his  magnificent  present 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  will  remain  among  us  a  monu- 
ment of  his  patriotism  and  of  his  genius.  His  paintings  from 
Grecian  and  Roman  history  are  exceedingly  numerous,  and 
would  alone  immortalize  him.  Of  modern  history  he  has  left 
us  almost  an  equal  number.  I  will  mention  a  few,  the  subjects 
of  which  answer  to  the  talent  displayed  in  their  execution. 
The  triumph  of  Rooke  over  James  II,  a  victory  which  secured 
the  revolution  of  1688,  and  that  liberty  which  England  has 
since  enjoyed.  "The  Battle  of  La  Hogue"  is  one  of  West's 
best  pictures.  There  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  in  the  general 
aspect  of  this  very  fine  painting,  with  a  Dutch  picture  of  the 
triumph  of  De  Ruyter  in  the  Thames,  when  he  took  possession 
of  the  "  Royal  Charles,"  burnt  several  ships  of  war,  and  threw 
the  kingdom  into  consternation.  The  engraving  (of  the  same 
size  of  West's  and  Woollet's  print)  is  entitled  "De  Beroemde 
Enderneming  op  de  Rivieren  van  London  en  Rochester,"  and 
it  is  marked  where  in  English  prints  the  painter's  name  is 
given  "Getekend  door  Dk.  Langendyk,  1782,"  and  where 
the  engraver's  name  is  given  "Gesneiden  door  M.  de  Sallieth 
te  Rotterdam";  and  in  the  midway  between  these  inscriptions 
is  "urt  gegeven  by  D.  Langendyk,  M.  de  Sallieth  en  Dirk  de 
Yong  te  Rotterdam."  West's  and  Woollet's  print  was  published 
the  18th  of  October,  1781  —  probably  the  painting  made  five 
or  more  years  before.  If  "getekend  door  Dk.  Langendyk, 
1782,"  means  painted  by  Langendyk,  at  that  date,  we  must 


LANGENDYK'S  PICTURE  99 

think  that  he  has  taken  a  hint  from  West;  but  although  there 
is  a  similarity  of  aspect,  and  somewhat  of  incident,  the  figures 
are  dissimilar.  The  dispositions  of  the  ships  and  figures  are 
reversed,  as  is  done  in  engraving;  the  French  admiral's  ship 
in  West  is  to  the  right  of  the  spectator,  and  the  "Royal  Charles" 
to  the  left  in  the  Dutch  picture  —  Sir  George  Rooke  and  De 
Ruyter  change  sides,  and  so  of  the  prominent  groups.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  West's  picture  is  incomparably  the  best; 
still  the  picture  of  Mynheer  Dk.  Langendyk,  if  he  be  the 
painter,  is  a  fine,  spirited  composition,  with  very  little  of  the 
beau  ideal,  and  much  of  nature.  It  is  suggested  that  the  Dutch 
picture  was  painted  shortly  after  the  affair  represented,  and 
the  print  perhaps  engraved,  but  the  publication  suspended 
(as  a  peace-offering  to  England)  when  peace  took  place;  but 
after  the  declaration  of  war  and  during  our  Revolutionary 
struggle,  the  print  was  published.  According  to  this  hypothesis, 
West  may  have  seen  a  proof  of  the  Dutch  print,  or  had  a  sight 
of  the  painting,  before  making  his  great  picture  of  La  Hogue. 
It  will  be  remembered,  that  during  the  war  between  England 
and  Holland,  in  1667,  De  Ruyter  and  De  Witt  entered  the 
Thames,  burned  a  number  of  ships  of  war,  at  least  six,  gained 
possession  of  the  "  Royal  Charles,"  and  inflicted  disgrace  upon 
the  navy  of  England,  and  terror  upon  the  people.  The  peace 
of  Breda  followed  soon  after;  but  in  the  year  1669,  the  infamous 
Charles  being  purchased  by  Louis  XIV,  and  acting  under  his 
orders  as  his  pensioner,  prepared  for  a  declaration  of  war 
against  Holland,  by  ordering  his  admiral,  Holmes,  to  attack 
the  Dutch  Smyrna  fleet,  sailing  under  the  faith  of  treaties  in 
time  of  peace  with  England.  When  the  English  admiral,  who 
had  been  ordered  on  this  piratical  expedition,  fell  in  with  the 
Dutch  fleet,  he,  with  every  appearance  of  friendship,  invited 
Admiral  Van  Ness  to  come  on  board,  and  with  the  same  insidi- 
ous show  of  friendship,  the  Dutch  rear  admiral  was  compli- 
mented with  an  invitation  by  another  officer  of  the  British 
squadron.  The  wary  Hollanders  were  not  so  to  be  caught  by 
the  satellites  of  a  faithless  monarch.  They  declined  the  honor, 
and  Holmes,  failing  in  the  attempt  as  a  hypocrite,  threw  off 


100 

the  mask,  and  in  his  character  of  pirate  attacked  the  gallant 
and  wary  Van  Ness.  Twice  the  Dutchman  valiantly  beat  off 
the  pirates;  but  in  a  third  attack  lost  one  ship  of  war  and  three 
inconsiderable  merchantmen,  out  of  a  fleet  of  seventy;  the 
remainder,  under  the  protection  of  their  brave  admiral,  were 
convoyed  safe  into  port.  The  vile  Charles,  in  obedience  to  his 
master,  immediately  issued  a  declaration  of  war;  "and  surely,'* 
says  Hume,  the  apologist  of  the  Stuarts,  "surely  reasons  more 
false  and  frivolous  never  were  employed  to  justify  a  flagrant 
violation  of  treaty."  Among  "the  pretensions,  some  abusive 
pictures  are  mentioned,  and  represented  as  a  ground  of  quarrel. 
The  Dutch  were  long  at  a  loss  what  to  make  of  this  article, 
till  it  was  discovered  that  a  portrait  of  Cornelius  De  Witt, 
brother  to  the  pensioner,  painted  by  the  order  of  certain  magis- 
trates of  Dort,  and  hung  up  in  a  chamber  of  the  town-house, 
had  given  occasion  to  the  complaint.  In  the  perspective  of 
this  portrait  the  painter  had  drawn  some  ships  on  fire  in  a 
harbor.  This  was  construed  to  be  Chatham,  where  De  Witt 
had  signally  distinguished  himself,  and  had  acquired  honor; 
but  little  did  he  imagine,  that  while  the  insult  itself,  committed 
in  open  war,  had  so  long  been  forgiven,  the  picture  of  it  should 
draw  such  severe  vengeance  upon  his  country."  Thus  far 
Hume;  but  it  appears  to  us  that  the  philosopher  might  with 
more  justice  have  said,  "Little  did  he  think  that  a  gallant  na- 
tion would  suffer  a  mean  and  licentious  tyrant  to  lead  them 
into  an  unjust  war,  on  pretences  so  utterly  unfounded";  for 
surely  it  was  not  vengeance,  poor  as  that  motive  is,  which 
actuated  the  British  monarch  and  his  base  ministry,  but  the 
desire  to  promote  the  views  of  a  master  whose  treasures 
furnished  the  means  of  gratifying  appetite.  The  consequence 
of  this  war,  begun  in  piracy  and  justified  by  falsehood,  was 
not  only  the  destruction  of  brave  men  of  both  nations,  but 
the  triumph  of  the  injured  Hollanders,  who  again  and  again 
defeated  the  fleets  of  France  and  England,  combined  against 
them.  Charles,  in  1674,  graciously  condescended  to  hear  the 
voice  of  the  English  people,  and  give  them  peace  with  Hol- 
land, having  no  resources  wherewith  to  carry  on  the  war. 


THE  ENGLISH  AND  THE  DUTCH       101 

It  is  only  as  connected  with  these  pictures,  the  "La  Hogue" 
of  West  and  the  "Beroemde  Enderneming  op  de  Rivieren  van 
London"  of  Dirk  Langendyk,  that  we  recall  this  portion  of 
history.  From  the  year  1674  to  1780,  England  and  Holland 
continued  in  peace;  and  as  pictures  could  be  made  pretences 
for  a  war,  the  strict  police  of  the  Dutch  would  doubtless 
prohibit  such  a  print  as  that  published  by  Langendyk,  Sallieth, 
and  Yong,  during  this  century  of  quiet,  and  especially  as 
the  power  of  England  and  her  jealousy  of  her  naval  honor 
were  daily  increasing;  but  when  the  Dutch  again  became  the 
opponents  of  Britain,  and  displayed  the  flag  of  defiance,  it 
was  natural  for  the  painters  and  engravers  to  take  advantage 
of  these  hostile  feelings,  and  to  animate  the  courage  of  their 
countrymen  by  reminding  them  of  the  triumph  of  De  Ruyter 
and  De  Witt  on  the  Thames,  when  the  Dutch  flag  not  only 
floated  the  narrow  seas,  but  floated  in  triumph  over  the  hull 
of  the  "  Royal  Charles."  West  had  painted,  probably  in  1774  or 
5,  his  "Battle  of  La  Hogue,"  and  Woollet  had  engraved  it  in 
time  to  be  published  in  1781.  Proofs  before  the  publication  of 
the  engraving  might  have  been  seen  by  Langendyk,  or  even 
West's  painting  at  an  earlier  period;  and  to  compose  his  picture 
on  the  plan  of  the  "Battle  of  La  Hogue"  would  readily  be  sug- 
gested. De  Witt's  portrait  at  Dort  furnished  part  of  the  ma- 
terial, and  he  is  placed  by  the  side  of  De  Ruyter;  these  two 
heroes  corresponding  to  West's  Sir  George  Rooke.  Instead 
of  the  French  admiral's  ship,  we  have  the  "  Royal  Charles,"  and 
in  the  spirit  of  Hogarth  we  see  a  Dutch  cabin-boy  waving 
the  flag  of  his  country  over  the  image  of  the  king  which  deco- 
rates the  stern.  We  repeat,  both  pictures  are  original,  and 
West's  far  the  best;  but  Langendyk  is  full  of  spirit  and  truth, 
the  tamest  part  being  the  portraits  of  the  two  heroes,  De 
Ruyter  and  De  Witt:  while  on  the  other  hand  West's  hero  is 
clothed  in  grandeur  and  dignity,  becoming  the  leader  whose 
valor  confirmed  the  constitutional  freedom  of  his  country  by 
destroying  the  power  and  almost  the  hopes  of  the  Stuarts. 

Perm's  Treaty  with  the  Indians  is  another  of  his  happy 
subjects.  William  Penn  rested  his  empire  on  justice  and 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

liberty  of  conscience.  Brute  force  had  no  agency  in  its  founda- 
tion, neither  was  it  cemented  by  the  blood  of  his  fellow-creat- 
ures. West's  pictures  from  Shakespeare  and  other  poets  are 
well  known.  I  will  mention  a  picture  by  him  connected  with 
this  country,  of  more  importance  to  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
than  even  the  victory  of  La  Hogue,  or  the  benevolent  Treaty 
of  Penn  —  the  Death  of  Wolfe.  This  is  not  only  one  of  the 
best  historical  compositions  of  a  great  master,  but  it  is  one  of 
the  very  best  subjects  for  the  historical  painter,  according  to 
my  view  of  the  utility  of  the  art.  It  records  one  of  those 
events  which  has  produced  incalculable  good  to  the  human 
race.  It  would  not  be  too  much  to  ascribe  to  the  victory  of 
the  Plains  of  Abraham,  the  blessings  we  enjoy  under  our  un- 
paralleled constitution,  the  effects  of  example  upon  the  exist- 
ing civilized  world,  and  upon  millions  on  millions  yet  unborn. 
It  may  appear,  at  first  sight,  wild  to  attribute  such  mighty 
consequences  to  a  battle  gained  in  Canada  by  a  few  English 
over  a  few  French  soldiers;  but  when  we  recollect  that  the 
power  of  France,  under  a  despotic  government,  had  been 
exerted  successfully  to  extend  her  armies  and  her  fortresses, 
from  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  that  an  enslaving  and  soul-debasing 
government  was  extending,  link  after  link,  a  chain,  made 
stronger  day  after  day  with  systematic  perseverance  and 
admirable  skill,  and  was  inclosing,  as  in  a  net  of  steel,  all  the 
descendants  of  the  English  republicans  who  had  sought  refuge 
on  the  shores  of  this  continent;  a  net  which  would  have  made 
all  this  fan*  territory  a  province  of  a  despotic  monarchy, 
instead  of  what  it  now  is  —  the  greatest  republic  the  world 
ever  saw;  when  we  remember  that  all  the  struggles  of  the 
provincials,  aided  by  the  armies  of  England,  had  been  for 
years  rendered  vain  by  the  military  skill  and  power  of  France; 
when  we  call  to  mind  the  bloody  and  disastrous  battles  fought 
on  the  banks  of  Lake  Champlain  and  Lake  George,  the  defeat 
of  Braddock,  and  the  unceasing  encroachments  of  the  trium- 
phant enemy  —  and  remember  that  the  victory  of  Wolfe,  by 
breaking  the  charm  and  the  chain,  made  of  all  America  a  land 


WEST'S  GALLERY  DISPERSED  103 

of  freedom  —  we  may  be  justified,  perhaps,  in  attributing  such 
consequences  to  Wolfe's  victory. 

By  a  curious  calculation,  it  was  ascertained  that  to  contain 
all  West's  pictures,  a  gallery  would  be  necessary  four  hundred 
feet  long,  fifty  broad,  and  forty  high. 

Bell's  "  Weekly  Messenger  "  gives  an  account  of  the  third  and 
final  day's  sale  of  the  gallery  of  West's  pictures.  The  grand 
total  of  the  sale,  amounted  to  £25,040  12s.  Among  those  sold 
were  the  following:  "Christ  Rejected";  it  was  bought  by  Mr. 
Smith  for  3,000  guineas,  on  account,  as  was  whispered  in  the 
room,  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse," 
painted  when  Mr.  West  had  nearly  accomplished  his  eightieth 
year,  was  bought  by  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Kirshaw,  for 
2,000  guineas.  "The  Death  of  Lord  Nelson,"  850  guineas. 
"The  Death  of  General  Wolfe,"  500  guineas,  bought  by  J. 
Monkton,  Esq.,  of  Portman  Square.  (Is  this  a  descendant  of 
the  general,  who  is  one  of  the  principal  figures?)  "Battle  of 
La  Hogue,"  370  guineas.  (These  last  two  must  have  been 
copies.)  "Moses  receiving  the  Laws,"  500  guineas.  "The 
Ascension  of  our  Saviour,"  200  guineas:  and  a  number  of 
others,  which  sold  for  from  200  down  to  17  guineas.  Lords 
Egremont  and  Amherst  bought  several. 

We  will  subjoin  the  following  respecting  this  excellent 
painter.  In  a  letter  to  us  from  Mr.  Allston,  he  says:  "To 
Mr.  West's  character  as  a  man,  I  will  add  the  following  affect- 
ing testimony  of  his  wife,  a  few  years  before  her  death.  Speak- 
ing of  him  to  a  lady,  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  she  said, 
'Ah,  he  is  a  good  man;  he  never  had  a  vice.'  Mrs.  West  was 
then  suffering  under  a  paralysis,  and  could  scarcely  articu- 
late. Such  testimony,  from  one  who  had  been  for  more  than 
half  a  century  his  most  intimate  companion,  is  worth  more 
than  a  volume  of  eulogy." 

It  remained  for  us  to  conclude  the  biography  of  Benjamin 
West,  by  a  review  of  his  character  as  a  painter  and  a  man.  It 
was  an  imperative  duty  in  the  author  of  this  work,  as  an  artist, 
a  man,  and  an  American;  but  he  is  pleased  to  have  been  antic- 
pated  by  an  artist  of  higher  authority,  and  a  writer  of  more 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

celebrity;  and  still  more  gratified  that  justice  has  been  done 
to  our  great  countryman  by  an  Englishman.  Instead  of  our 
remarks,  we  will  substitute  those  of  Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee, 
now  the  president  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  England: 

"The  example  set  by  Reynolds  was  not  lost  upon  his  emi- 
nent successors;  and  the  distinguished  artist,  who  was  next 
appointed  to  this  chair,  hesitated  not  to  co-operate,  in  like 
manner,  with  the  able  professors  of  the  Academy,  in  the  office 
of  instruction.  The  discourses  of  President  West  bear  ample 
testimony  to  the  zeal  and  knowledge  which  he  brought  to  the 
performance  of  a  task,  rendered  as  arduous  as  it  was  honor- 
able, by  the  extraordinary  ability  with  which  it  had  been 
previously  executed. 

"Well  grounded  in  the  elementary  principles  of  his  profes- 
sion, he  was  as  conversant  with  the  theory,  as  he  was  dexterous 
in  the  practice  of  his  art.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  of  him, 
that  in  the  exercise  of  those  powers  of  the  pencil,  to  the  attain- 
ment of  which  his  ambition  more  particularly  directed  him,  he 
was  unrivalled  in  his  day.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  facility  of 
his  hand,  and  with  so  much  certainty  did  he  proceed  in  his 
operations,  that  he  rarely  failed  to  achieve  whatever  he  pro- 
posed to  accomplish,  and  within  the  time  which  he  had  allotted 
for  its  performance. 

"Indefatigable  application  and  irrepressible  ardor  in  his  pur- 
suit, succeeded  in  obtaining  for  him  that  general  knowledge  of 
his  subject,  which  seldom  fails  to  reward  the  toils  of  resolute 
and  well-directed  study.  No  artist  of  his  time,  perhaps,  was 
better  acquainted  with  the  powers  and  the  expedients,  the  exi- 
gencies and  the  resources  of  his  art.  No  man  could  more 
sagaciously  estimate  the  qualities  of  a  fine  picture,  or  more 
skilfully  analyze  the  merits  combined  in  its  production.  If  you 
found  yourself  embarrassed  in  the  conduct  of  your  work,  and 
you  consulted  him,  he  would  at  once  show  you  where  it  failed, 
and  why  it  failed.  Like  a  skilful  physician,  he  announced  with 
precision  the  nature  of  the  disease,  and  could  suggest  the  rem- 
edy, even  where  he  was  not  himself  qualified  to  administer  it. 

"The  qualities  which  distinguished  him,  both  as  a  man  and 


SIR  MARTIN  SHEE'S  TRIBUTE  105 

as  an  artist,  were,  perhaps,  not  a  little  influenced  by  the  pecu- 
liar religious  impressions  which  he  had  early  received.  Order, 
calmness,  and  regularity  characterized  him  through  all  the 
relations  of  life.  In  his  habits  of  investigation,  there  was 
nothing  loose,  desultory,  or  digressive.  The  stores  of  knowl- 
edge which  study  and  experience  enabled  him  to  lay  up,  were 
immediately  classed  and  ticketed  for  use;  and  the  results  of 
his  observations  he  diligently  endeavored  to  compress  into 
principles,  whenever  they  would  admit  of  so  advantageous  a 
reduction;  the  natural  turn  of  his  mind  leading  him  to  repress, 
within  the  strict  limits  of  system  and  science,  the  arbitrary, 
irregular,  and  eccentric  movements  of  genius  and  taste. 

"No  man  could  be  more  liberally  desirous  than  West  to 
impart  to  others  the  knowledge  which  he  possessed.  He  never, 
indeed,  appeared  to  be  more  gratified  than  when  engaged  in 
enlightening  the  minds  of  those  who  looked  up  to  him  for  in- 
struction ;  and  though,  in  following  the  path  of  precept  marked 
out  by  his  great  predecessor,  and  communicating  the  lessons 
of  his  experience  in  a  similar  way,  he  does  not  approach  to  a 
rivalry  with  Reynolds  as  a  teacher  of  his  art;  though  his  pen 
was  not  so  ready  as  his  pencil,  and  cannot  be  said  to  display 
the  graces  of  language  and  style  which  distinguish  the  composi- 
tions of  that  eminent  writer,  yet  the  discourses  of  President 
West,  delivered  from  this  place,  must  be  acknowledged  to 
contain  many  ingenious  remarks  and  much  useful  information. 
They  evince  an  ardent  enthusiasm  for  the  honor  and  interests 
of  his  profession,  and  a  laudable  zeal  to  recommend  the  just 
claims  of  the  arts  to  the  respect  and  protection  of  our  country. 

"It  is  impossible  to  review  the  character  and  professional 
powers  of  this  able  artist,  without  the  strongest  sense  of  regret 
that  they  are  so  inadequately  understood  and  appreciated  in 
this  country,  even  at  this  day.  The  spirit  of  criticism  prevalent 
among  us,  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  not  generally  too 
indulgent  to  the  imperfections  of  modern  art,  has  shown  itself, 
in  his  case,  more  than  usually  fastidious  and  severe.  The 
high  aims  of  his  pencil,  which  might  reasonably  be  expected  to 
propitiate  the  community  of  taste,  have  procured  for  him  no 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

favor.  He  is  unsparingly  censured  where  he  fails,  and  is 
allowed  little  credit  where  he  has  succeeded.  He  is  tried,  not 
by  his  merits,  but  by  his  defects,  and  judged  before  a  tribunal 
which  admits  only  the  evidence  against  him.  His  profession, 
indeed,  have  always  done  him  justice;  and  they  manifested 
their  sense  of  his  claims  by  the  station  in  which  they  placed 
him.  But  few  artists  have  been  less  favored  by  fortune,  or 
more  ungenerously  defrauded  of  their  fame.  It  has  been  un- 
reservedly stated  on  his  own  authority,  that  the  remuneration 
of  his  labors,  from  the  patronage  of  the  public,  during  the 
space  of  forty -five  years,  was  so  inadequate  to  his  very  moder- 
ate wants,  as  to  leave  him  dependent  on  the  income  allowed 
him  as  historical  painter  to  his  royal  patron  George  the  Third, 
for  the  means  of  living  in  this  country. 

"It  is  melancholy  to  reflect,  that  in  consequence  of  this 
resource  having  been  unexpectedly  withdrawn  from  him,  very 
late  in  life,  and  at  a  period  when  his  royal  protector  must  have 
been  unconscious  of  such  a  proceeding,  the  close  of  his  long 
and  laborious  career  was  embittered  by  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment. But  his  enthusiasm  for  his  art  never  for  a  moment 
failed  under  his  disappointments.  The  spring  of  his  mind 
never  once  gave  way;  and  nearly  to  the  latest  hour  of  an  exist- 
ence prolonged  beyond  the  period  usually  assigned  to  the  age 
of  man,  he  was  occupied  in  projecting  works  sufficiently  exten- 
sive to  startle  the  enterprise  of  youth,  and  demand  the  exertion 
of  the  most  vigorous  manhood. 

"Unfortunately,  however,  West  did  not  possess,  in  a  suffi- 
cient degree,  those  qualities  of  art  which  are  the  most  pop- 
ular amongst  us.  The  captivations  of  color,  chiar'  oscuro,  and 
execution,  which  the  English  school  displays  in  such  perfec- 
tion, were  wanting  to  set  off  his  productions;  and  the  merits 
of  a  higher  order  which  they  contained,  appealed  to,  and  re- 
quired the  exercise  of  a  better  informed  and  more  compre- 
hensive judgment  than  the  taste  of  his  time  could  in  general 
supply. 

"So  little  impression,  indeed,  had  his  various  powers  left 
upon  the  public  mind,  after  the  toils  of  more  than  half  a  cen- 


DEFECTS  AND  EXCELLENCIES  107 

tury,  that  a  collection  of  his  pictures,  formed  after  his  death  by 
his  family,  containing  many  of  his  finest  works,  and  arranged 
with  peculiar  judgment  and  taste,  had  scarcely  sufficient  at- 
traction for  the  admirers  of  art  in  this  great  metropolis,  to 
defray  the  expenses  attending  their  exhibition. 

"The  defects  of  West  were  obvious  to  the  most  common 
observer  of  his  works.  Every  small  critic  could  talk  of  the 
hardness  of  his  outline,  the  dryness  of  his  manner,  and  the 
absence  of  what  may  be  called  those  surface  sweets  which  are 
so  highly  prized,  under  the  name  of  execution,  by  that  class  of 
artists  and  connoisseurs  who  think  more  of  the  means  than  of 
the  end,  in  contemplating  a  work  of  art.  But  it  demanded 
greater  knowledge  of  the  subject  than  is  commonly  found 
amongst  the  ordinary  dispensers  of  fame  in  this  country,  to 
appreciate  his  various  acquirements ;  —  his  powers  of  compo- 
sition ;  —  his  general  facility  of  design ;  —  his  masterly  treat- 
ment of  extensive  subjects,  where,  in  pouring  a  population  on 
his  canvas,  the  resources  of  an  artist's  imagination  are  put  to 
the  test;  —  the  scientific  construction  and  arrangement  of  his 
groups,  and  the  appropriate  action  and  occupation  of  the 
different  figures  of  which  they  are  composed.  Yet  all  these 
are  qualities  which  rank  high  in  the  scale  by  which  it  is  usual 
to  estimate  the  comparative  claims  of  a  painter.  We  must 
take  care  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  standard  by  which  the  rela- 
tive merits  of  our  art  are  to  be  measured.  In  proportion  as 
the  intellectual  is  combined  with  the  mechanical,  do  we  value 
those  productions  of  man  which  are  not  appropriated  to  the 
purposes  of  manufacture,  or  the  ordinary  accommodations  of 
life. 

"Invention,  composition,  design,  character,  and  expression 
have  always  taken  precedence  of  coloring,  chiar'  oscuro,  and 
execution,  in  the  estimation  of  the  judicious  critic;  though 
excellence  in  the  latter  qualities  may  be  justly  preferred  to 
mediocrity  in  the  former.  We  may,  from  local  prejudice,  or 
personal  peculiarity,  prefer  silver  to  gold,  or  a  pebble  to  a  dia- 
mond; but  if  we  reverse  in  our  notions  the  relative  value, 
which,  by  common  consent,  has  been  assigned  to  these  objects, 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

our  judgment  will  be  considered  not  only  erroneous,  but 
diseased. 

"The  ambition  of  West  directed  him  to  the  highest  depart- 
ment of  his  art.  In  his  hands  the  pencil  was  always  employed 
for  the  noblest  purposes,  —  on  subjects  the  moral  interest  of 
which  outweighs  their  mechanical  execution.  He  delighted 
to  commemorate  heroic  deeds,  to  illustrate  the  annals  of  sacred 
history,  and  perpetuate  the  triumphs  of  patriotism  and  public 
virtue. 

"If  we  applaud  the  exalted  spirit  which  prompted  him  to 
devote  his  talents  to  such  praiseworthy  objects,  shall  we  not 
also  offer  the  just  tribute  of  our  admiration  to  the  enlightened 
monarch  who  encouraged  and  sustained  his  labors;  who,  by 
liberally  endeavoring  to  reopen  the  church  to  the  arts,  sought 
to  procure  for  them  a  new  source  of  employment  in  this 
country,  and  who,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  set  an  example  of 
generous  patronage  of  the  arts  to  the  great  and  powerful  of 
his  day,  which,  if  it  had  been  followed  with  corresponding  zeal 
and  patriotism,  could  not  have  failed  to  obtain  for  Great 
Britain  all  the  glory  which  pre-eminence  in  arts  can  shed  upon 
a  state? 

"The  degree  of  success  with  which  the  honorable  exertions 
of  West  were  attended,  may,  I  conceive,  be  fairly  determined  by 
this  test:  let  the  most  prejudiced  of  those  who  are  inclined 
to  question  his  claims  to  the  rank  of  a  great  artist  examine  the 
series  of  prints  engraved  from  his  works.  I  would,  in  particular, 
entreat  them  to  view  with  some  attention,  the  Death  of 
General  Wolfe,  —  the  Battles  of  La  Hogue  and  the  Boyne,  — 
the  Return  of  Regulus  to  Carthage,  —  Agrippina  bearing  the 
ashes  of  Germanicus,  —  the  young  Hannibal  swearing  eternal 
enmity  to  the  Romans,  —  the  Death  of  Epaminondas,  —  the 
Death  of  the  Chevalier  Bayard,  —  Pyrrhus,  when  a  boy, 
brought  to  Glaucus,  king  of  Illyria,  for  protection,  —  and 
Penn's  treaty  with  the  Indians;  not  to  mention  many  others, 
perhaps  equally  deserving  of  enumeration.  Let  these  well- 
known  examples  of  his  ability  be  candidly  considered,  and  where 
is  the  artist,  whose  mind  is  enlarged  beyond  the  narrow  sphere 


JAMES  CLAYPOOLE 


ESTIMATE  OF  WEST'S  RANK  109 

of  his  own  peculiar  practice,  —  where  is  the  connoisseur,  whose 
taste  has  not  been  formed  by  a  catalogue  raisonn£,  or  in  the 
atmosphere  of  an  auction  room,  —  who  will  hesitate  to  ac- 
knowledge that  the  author  of  such  noble  compositions  may 
justly  claim  a  higher  station  in  his  profession  than  has  been 
hitherto  assigned  to  him,  and  well  merits  to  be  considered,  in 
his  peculiar  department,  the  most  distinguished  artist  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived?" 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DUFFIELD  —  CLAYPOOLE — PRATT — COPLEY — TAYLOR — CAIN. 

EDWARD  DuFFiELD1 

Is  brought  to  our  knowledge  by  our  friend  John  F.  Watson, 
author  of  "  Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  etc.,  Mr.  Duffield  designed 
and  executed  several  medals  in  1756-7. 

JAMES  CLAYPOOLE2 
I  only  know  as  the  teacher  of 

MATTHEW  PRATT. 

Matthew  Pratt,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, on  the  23d  September,  1734;  and  though  he  could 
not  boast  a  noble  line  of  ancestry,  he  was  aware  that  his  an- 
cestors, for  near  a  century,  had  been  honest  and  reputable 
householders.  His  father  was  a  goldsmith,  and  served  his 
time  with  Philip  Syng,  Jr.,  the  grandfather  of  the  present 
Dr.  P.  S.  Physick.  At  this  time  a  company  of  associates  was 
formed,  of  which  Dr.  Franklin  was  the  head,  and  from  them 
emanated  the  Philadelphia  Library,  for  which  they  procured 
a  charter.3  Apartments  were  provided  for  it  in  the  state  house. 
Matthew  Pratt  received  such  an  education  as  the  common 
schools  in  the  city  afforded,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was 

1  Duffield  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  April  30,  1730,  and  died  July  12,  1805.  He 
made  clocks  and  watches,  was  a  member  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  and 
an  associate  of  Franklin  and  Rittenhouse. 

*  James  Claypoole  was  born  January  23,  1720,  at  Philadelphia.  He  left  nothing 
tangible  with  which  to  estimate  his  ability  as  a  painter.  Nathaniel  Emmons  who 
was  born  in  1704  and  Joseph  Badger  who  was  born  in  1708  antedated  Claypoole  who 
has  sometimes  been  called  the  earliest  native-born  American  painter.  Charles  Will- 
ion  Peale  states  in  his  personal  notes  that  James  Claypoole  left  Philadelphia  with  the 
intention  of  joining  Benjamin  West  in  London,  and  that  he  stopped  at  Jamaica, 
where  he  died  about  1796. 

*  Pratt  painted  the  earliest  authentic  portrait  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  made  about 
1756. 

110 


MATTHEW  PRATT 
1784-1805 
BY  HIMSELF 


SIX  MONTHS  IN  JAMAICA  111 

placed  an  apprentice  to  his  uncle,  James  Claypoole,  from  whom 
(to  use  his  own  words)  he  learned  all  the  different  branches 
of  the  painting  business,  particularly  portrait  painting,  which 
was  his  favorite  study  from  ten  years  of  age.  This  allusion  to 
the  different  branches  of  the  painting  business,  shows  plainly 
the  degraded  state  in  which  the  arts  were  at  that  time  in  this 
country. 

Passing  over  the  period  of  his  apprenticeship,  and  two 
years  during  which  he  followed  his  profession  in  Philadelphia, 
we  find  him,  in  October,  1757,  embarking  on  board  a  small 
vessel  for  the  island  of  Jamaica,  having  ventured  a  great  part 
of  his  property  in  a  mercantile  speculation.  Of  the  vessel  in 
which  he  sailed,  Enoch  Hobart,  who  married  his  sister,  was 
commander,  and  who  was  father  to  the  late  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  Hobart,  of  New  York.  His  abandoning  the  arts  at  this 
time  is  not  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  evidence  of  his  want  of 
encouragement,  but  as  a  disposition  to  see  the  world.  The 
voyage  to  Jamaica,  however,  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view, 
was  not  very  successful.  They  were  captured  and  plundered 
near  St.  Lucia,  by  a  French  privateer,  and  after  a  week's  de- 
tention were  retaken  by  a  British  ship.  The  result  of  this 
adventure  was  an  agreeable  residence  of  six  months  in  Jamaica; 
and  he  did  not  reach  home  until  late  in  1758.  He  now,  for  the 
first  time,  regularly  pursued  portrait  painting,  arid  met  with 
the  most  perfect  success,  giving  general  satisfaction  to  his 
employers,  and  receiving  an  ample  reward. 

In  1760  he  married  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Charles 
Moore,  merchant,  of  Philadelphia,  and  four  years  after  he 
prepared  for  his  departure  for  England. 

It  is  now  for  the  first  time  that  the  manuscript  from  which  I 
compiled  this  sketch  speaks  of  Benjamin  West.  When  or 
how  the  friendship  between  them  commenced,  I  am  unable  to 
determine;  but  from  his  journal  it  appears  that  Mr.  West  had 
entered  into  a  matrimonial  engagement,  three  years  previous, 
with  Miss  Betsey  Shewall,  a  relation  of  Mr.  Pratt's  father, 
and  the  present  voyage  was  made  in  company  with  Miss 
Shewall  and  Mr.  West's  father,  for  the  purpose  of  terminating 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

that  engagement  by  marriage.  The  passage  out  was  speedy 
and  pleasant  —  twenty-eight  days  from  the  Capes  to  London; 
and  in  three  weeks  after  their  arrival,  the  marriage  ceremony 
was  performed  at  St.  Martin's  church  in  the  Strand;  Mr. 
Pratt  officiating  as  father  and  giving  away  the  bride.  The 
whole  party  then  made  an  excursion  to  Mr.  West's  aunt's  in 
Oxfordshire,  and  to  his  brother's  in  Berkshire,  and  returned  to 
London  after  a  delightful  tour  of  several  weeks. 

Mr.  Pratt  was  now  located  as  a  member  in  Mr.  West's 
family,  and  studied  his  art  under  him  with  close  application, 
and  received  from  him  at  all  times  (to  use  his  own  words) 
"the  attentions  of  a  friend  and  brother."  He  continued  in 
England  four  years  —  eighteen  months  of  that  time  being  spent 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Bristol;  and  it 
is  to  his  studies  and  improvement  during  this  period  that  we 
are  to  look,  as  the  cause  of  his  attaining  a  professional  stand 
of  high  respectability.  In  1768  he  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
and  recommenced  his  business  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  Pine 
Streets.  His  situation  and  the  nature  of  his  business  may  be 
in  some  degree  elucidated  by  referring  again  to  his  manu- 
script. "I  now  met  with  my  old  friend,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Barton,  who  came  purposely  to  introduce  me  to  Governor 
Hamilton,  Governor  John  Penn,  Mr.  John  Dickinson,  Mr. 
Samuel  Powel,  the  Willing  family,  the  clergy  of  Philadelphia, 
etc.,  etc.;  among  whom  I  met  with  full  employ  for  two  years." 
This  pleasing  and  successful  career  was  interrupted  by  some 
family  concerns  of  importance,  which  rendered  his  presence 
in  Ireland  indispensable.  Accordingly,  in  March,  1770,  he 
sailed  for  Newry,  a  fellow-passenger  with  Mr.  Joseph  Reed 
(afterwards  governor  of  Pennsylvania),  and  had  an  agreeable 
passage  out,  and  soon  after  reached  Dublin.  Among  others 
with  whom  Mr.  Pratt  formed  an  intimacy  in  this  place,  was 
the  Rev.  Archdeacon  Mann,  from  whose  family,  during  his 
stay,  he  received  every  species  of  polite  attention.  By  way 
of  acknowledgment  for  so  many  favors,  he  painted  a  full- 
length  portrait  of  the  Rev.  Doctor,  in  his  canonical  robes. 
This  picture  was  placed  in  an  exhibition  by  the  Dublin  Society 


2 

H     S 

n  B  g 

u  •«!  .3 

"£  1 

§  *  t 
u  S  jS 

iij 


H      J 

a     =3 

H         ? 


THE   BENEVOLENT  ARTIST  113 

of  Artists,  and  its  author,  received  no  inconsiderable  share  of 
praise  and  commendation.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  time,  he 
proceeded  to  England;  and  during  two  weeks  that]  he  re- 
mained in  Liverpool,  was  assiduously  occupied  in  painting 
portraits.  From  Liverpool  he  went  to  Cork,  and  soon  after 
sailed  to  Philadelphia. 

Previous  to  their  sailing,  as  the  last  boat  was  about  leaving 
the  shore,  a  young  woman  applied  for  a  passage  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  she  said  her  family  held  a  respectable  situation  in 
society.  An  unfortunate  marriage  had  been  the  cause  of  her 
following  the  fortunes  of  a  worthless  husband  to  Ireland, 
where  she  was  now  deserted.  To  others  in  the  boat  her  appeal 
was  made  in  vain ;  but  the  characteristic  generosity  of  an  artist 
was  at  once  excited.  Mr.  Pratt  became  responsible  for  her 
passage-money,  and  a  share  of  the  few  guineas  remaining  in 
his  pocket  was  appropriated  to  her  immediate  wants;  and 
through  his  means  she  was  rescued  from  want  and  misery. 
The  person  here  spoken  of  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Pratt  to  her 
friends  in  safety  in  Philadelphia,  whose  gratitude  was  great 
and  lasting. 

Having  returned  to  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Pratt  never  left  it 
again,  but  pursued  his  profession  with  unabated  zeal  and 
industry.  Many  of  his  portraits  extant  prove  him  to  have 
been  an  artist  of  talent  and  capacity.  Among  these  I  would 
notice,  as  works  praised  by  competent  judges,  a  portrait  of  the 
Duke  of  Portland,  and  one  of  the  Duchess  of  Manchester; 
also  a  Scripture  piece,  and  the  London  School  of  Artists,  and 
a  full-length  portrait  of  Gov.  Hamilton,  now  in  the  possession 
of  his  family;  the  coloring  and  effect  are  highly  creditable  to 
the  infant  arts  of  our  country. 

Devotedly  attached  to  his  profession,  and  governed  by  the 
spirit  of  the  times,  and  feeling  that  the  legitimate  path  of  the 
limner  could  not  support  an  increasing  family,  Mr.  Pratt 
painted  at  intervals  a  number  of  signs,  some  of  which,  until 
within  a  few  years,  have  been  hanging  in  this  city.  Amongst 
these,  perhaps  the  best  was  a  representation  of  a  cock  in  a 
barnyard,  which  for  many  years  graced  a  beer  house  in  Spruce 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Street;  the  execution  of  this  was  so  fine,  and  the  expression  of 
nature  so  exactly  copied,  that  it  was  evident  to  the  most 
casual  observer  that  it  was  painted  by  the  hand  of  a  master. 
Most  of  our  old  citizens  recollect  the  sign  of  the  grand  con- 
vention of  1788,  which  was  first  raised  at  the  corner  of  Fourth 
and  Chestnut  Streets.  On  this  piece  Mr.  Pratt  gave  portraits 
of  most  of  the  distinguished  men  assembled  on  that  occasion, 
and  for  some  time  the  streets  were  filled  with  crowds  occupied 
in  identifying  likenesses. 

After  spending  a  life  principally  hi  the  cultivation  of  the 
arts,  of  which  he  was  in  this  country  a  most  effective  pioneer, 
he  was  attacked  by  the  gout  hi  the  head  and  stomach,  and  died 
on  the  9th  day  of  January,  1805,  aged  seventy  years  three 
months  and  nineteen  days. 

Of  the  picture  of  "The  London  School  of  Artists,"1  painted 
by  Mr.  Pratt,  my  friend  Thomas  Sully  says,  "This  picture 
was  exhibited  in  our  academy  some  years  ago,  and  was  so  well 
executed  that  I  had  always  thought  it  was  a  copy  from  West. 
The  whole-length  of  Governor  Hamilton  I  have  often  seen  at 
the  Woodlands,  near  Philadelphia,  and  considered  it  a  very 
excellent  picture,  and  worthy  to  pass  for  one  of  West's." 

Between  the  years  1760  and  1764,  Mr.  Pratt  painted  por- 
traits occasionally  in  New  York.  I  have  seen  a  full-length 
portrait  of  Governor  Golden  by  him,  and  there  are  in  the 
Walton  family  several  of  his  pictures.  Tradition  says  of  him 
at  this  time  that  he  was  a  gentleman  of  pleasing  manners,  and 
a  great  favorite  with  the  first  citizens  in  point  of  wealth  and 
intelligence. 

From  the  venerable  Mr.  Thackara,  we  learn  that  Pratt, 
when  a  boy,  "was  a  schoolmate  of  Charles  W.  Peale  and  B. 
West,  at  Videl's  school,  up  the  alley,  back  of  Holland's  hat- 
ter's shop,  Second  Street,  below  Chestnut.  At  ten  years  of 
age  he  wrote  twelve  different  handwritings,  and  painted  a 
number  of  marine  pieces,  which  are  now  in  the  family.  He 
assisted  C.  W.  Peale  to  form  the  first  museum  in  Philadelphia, 

'"The  London  School  of  Artists"  by  Matthew  Pratt  is  in  The  Metropolitan  Art 
Museum,  New  York  City,  and  reproduced. 


115 

southwest  corner  of  Third  and  Lombard  Streets.  When  in 
England,  he  assisted  West  in  painting  the  whole  royal  family." 
I  give  this  as  received  from  my  respectable  friend  Mr.  Thac- 
kara;  but  it  seems  at  variance  with  the  memoirs  of  C.  W. 
Peale,  in  respect  to  Pratt,  West,  and  Peale  being  schoolmates 
in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Peale  was  seven  years  younger  than  Pratt, 
and  was  born  at  Chesterton,  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  and 
did  not  visit  Philadelphia  until  he  was  a  married  man  and  a 
saddler;  according  to  his  son's  biography  of  him. 

It  is  well  known  that  many  a  good  painter  has  condescended, 
and  many  a  one  been  glad,  to  paint  a  sign.  I  have  been  told 
that  it  is  very  common  in  Paris.  In  Philadelphia  the  signs 
have  been  remarkable  for  the  skill  with  which  they  are  designed 
and  executed.  Beside  the  signs  mentioned  above  as  painted 
by  Mr.  Pratt,  a  Neptune  and  a  fox  chase,  with  many  others, 
came  from  his  workshop.  One  of  the  signs  mentioned  above 
is  thus  noticed  in  a  letter  from  M.  M.  Noah,  Esq.,  to  me,  and 
published  in  my  "  History  of  the  American  Theatre."  He  says 
a  prologue  he  wrote  when  a  boy  "was  probably  suggested  by 
the  sign  of  the  Federal  Convention  at  the  tavern  opposite 
the  theatre  (the  old  theatre  in  South  Street).  You  no  doubt 
remember  the  picture  and  the  motto:  an  excellent  piece  of 
painting  of  the  kind,  representing  a  group  of  venerable  per- 
sonages engaged  in  public  discussions.  The  sign  must  have 
been  painted  soon  after  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitu- 
tion; and  I  remember  to  have  stood  'many  a  time  and  oft' 
gazing,  when  a  boy,  at  the  assembled  patriots,  particularly 
the  venerable  head  and  spectacles  of  Dr.  Franklin,  always  in 
conspicuous  relief." 

I  insert  with  pleasure  Mr.  Neagle's  testimony  to  the  merit 
of  Pratt,  and  it  is  the  testimony  of  an  excellent  artist  and 
judicious  man. 

"I  have  seen  the  works  of  Pratt  —  portraits  and  other  sub- 
jects. I  remember  many  signs  for  public  houses  (now  all 
gone)  painted  by  his  hand,  and  I  assure  you  they  were  by  far 
the  best  signs  I  ever  saw.  They  were  of  a  higher  character 
than  signs  generally,  well  colored,  and  well  composed.  They 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

were  like  the  works  of  an  artist  descended  from  a  much  higher 
department.  One  of  a  game-cock,  admirably  painted,  which 
was  afterwards  retouched  or  repainted  by  Woodside.  It  was 
called  the  'Cock  revived,'  but  with  all  Woodside's  skill,  it 
was  ruined,  and  I  have  heard  he  confesses  it.  One  of  the 
Continental  Convention,  with  they  say  good  likenesses.  One 
of  Neptune,  etc.,  for  Lebanon  Gardens  in  South  Street.  One 
admirably  executed  hunting  scene,  with  sunrise,  in  Arch 
Street.  A  drovers'  scene,  and  others,  most  of  them  with 
verses  at  bottom  composed  by  himself. 

"Pratt's  signs,  or  at  least  those  attributed  to  him  by  his  son 
Thomas,  were  broad  in  effect  and  loaded  with  color.  There 
is  no  niggling  in  his  style  or  touch.  I  remember  them  well; 
for  it  was  in  a  great  measure  his  signs  that  stirred  a  spirit 
within  me  for  the  art,  whenever  I  saw  them,  which  was 
frequent." 

JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY 

Probably  painted  portraits  as  early  as  1760;  and  therefore  is 
next  in  point  of  time.  Copley,  another  American,  after  enjoy- 
ing greater  advantages  for  the  study  of  his  art,  than  had  been 
afforded  to  his  countryman  West,  and  after  painting  better 
pictures,  in  the  new  world,  than  the  Pennsylvanian,  followed 
him  to  Europe;  and  with  admirable  industry  and  perseverance 
raised  himself  nearly  to  a  level  with  the  best  portrait  painters  of 
England,  where  portrait  painting  was  at  the  period  of  his 
making  that  country  his  permanent  place  of  residence,  taking 
that  stand  which  has  rendered  England  the  school  for  all 
artists,  who  desire  to  excel  in  a  branch  of  the  fine  arts,  more 
lucrative  (though  not  so  honorable)  than  history  painting. 
West,  as  we  have  seen,  chose  the  more  difficult,  complicated, 
and  brilliant  department,  and  was  acknowledged  as  its  head. 
Copley  only  took  up  the  historic  pencil  at  intervals,  and  was 
even  when  so  employed,  still  a  portrait  painter. 

Knowing  that  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  Esq.,  with  a  wish  to 
honor  his  countryman,  had  applied  to  Copley's  son,  Lord 
Lyndhurst,  for  information  respecting  his  father,  I  requested 


JOHN  SINGLETON   COPLKY 
1737-1815 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  The  New  York  Historical  Society 


GRACEFUL  — BUT  AN  EXCUSE  117 

the  noble  lord's  answer,  which  being  communicated  to  me,  is 
here  given: 

"  George  Street,  27th  December,  1827. 

"Dear  Sir:  —  I  beg  you  will  accept  my  best  thanks  for  your 
discourse  delivered  before  the  National  Academy  at  New 
York,  which  has  been  handed  to  me  by  Mr.  Ward.  The 
tenor  of  my  father's  life  was  so  uniform  as  to  afford  little  materi- 
als for  a  biographer.  He  was  entirely  devoted  to  his  art, 
which  he  pursued  with  unremitting  assiduity  to  the  last  year 
of  his  life.  The  result  is  before  the  public  in  his  works,  which 
must  speak  for  themselves;  and  considering  that  he  was  en- 
tirely self-taught,  and  never  saw  a  decent  picture,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  his  own,  until  he  was  nearly  thirty  years  of  age,  the 
circumstance  is,  I  think,  worthy  of  admiration,  and  affords  a 
striking  proof  of  what  natural  genius,  aided  by  determined 
perseverance  can,  under  almost  any  circumstances,  accomplish. 

"I  remain,  dear  sir, 

"Your  faithful  servant, 

"LYNDHURST." 

Now  this  is  very  civil,  but  sufficiently  meagre  and  unsatis- 
factory. That  Mr.  Copley  was  a  prudent,  assiduous,  perse- 
vering man,  we  know,  and  that  he  was  a  good  painter  before  he 
left  his  country;  but  the  "entirely  self-taught,"  I  reject  alto- 
gether. Neither  can  I  admit  that  he  had  not  seen  a  "decent 
picture,  with  the  exception  of  his  own,"  before  he  saw  the 
treasures  of  European  art.  Smibert  and  Blackburn  painted 
in  Boston;  and  even  if  the  young  man  did  not  receive  their  in- 
struction as  a  pupil,  he  saw  their  pictures,  which  were  more 
than  decent,  and  received  the  instruction  which  is  conveyed 
by  studying  the  works  of  others.  We  shall  see  that  Allston 
gained  his  first  notion  of  coloring  from  a  picture  by  Smibert 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston.  Copley  painted  in  New 
York,  and  saw  the  portraits  executed  by  West  in  that  city, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  West  painted  a  portrait  on  his  arrival  at 
Rome,  which  stood  a  comparison  with  the  works  of  Mengs. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE   ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

We  have  no  testimony  that  Copley  visited  Philadelphia;1  if 
he  did  not,  it  was  from  a  lack  of  curiosity,  and  not  of  means, 
for  he  had  long  been  in  lucrative  employment,  and  lived  in 
comparative  splendor.  If  he  saw  only  the  collection  of  pic- 
tures belonging  to  Governor  Hamilton,  he  saw  many  that  were 
more  than  decent.  The  Murillo  of  this  collection  was  probably 
a  first-rate  picture. 

But  if  he  only  saw  the  pictures  of  Smibert,  we  know  that 
he  was  no  mean  artist;  and  that  he  brought  to  Boston,  casts, 
drawings,  prints,  and  many  copies  from  old  masters,  besides 
the  Cardinal  Bentivoglio,  above  alluded  to.  It  is  further,  very 
probable,  that  Copley  was  the  companion,  the  friend,  or  the 
fellow-student  of  the  younger  Smibert,  under  the  tuition  of  his 
father.  Copley,  born  in  1738,2  was  at  the  period  of  Smibert's 
death  (1751),  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  though  we  find  no 
direct  evidence  of  the  fact,  was  probably  a  pupil,  directly  or 
indirectly,  of  the  friend  of  Dean  Berkeley. 

Not  satisfied  with  the  information  afforded  by  Lord  Lynd- 
hurst  in  his  letter  above  quoted,  we,  in  the  democratic  simplicity 
of  our  hearts,  endeavored  to  elicit  something  more  definite 
from  the  painter's  son  respecting  his  father.  We  wrote  to  the 
noble  lord,  but  having  waited  many  months,  we  despair  of 
information  from  that  source.  It  has  been  observed,  that  in 
England,  as  well  as  in  America,  any  man,  however  low  in  the 
scale  of  society,  if  he  has  talents,  may  be  lifted  to  high  rank 
and  official  power.  But  with  us  he  is  so  lifted  by  the  people, 
and  remains  one  of  them;  whereas  in  England,  he  is  exalted 
by  the  aristocracy,  and  is  evermore  lost  to  the  mass  from  which 
he  is  taken.  It  is  understood,  that  he  is  to  become,  when  he 

1  Copley  visited  Philadelphia  in  September,  1771,  and  saw  many  pictures,  copies 
after  Correggio  and  others,  at  the  house  of  Chief  Justice  William  Allen.  On  the  return 
trip  to  New  York  he  says  he  stopped  at  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  saw  several  pictures 
attributed  to  Van  Dyck. 

*The  date  of  John  Singleton  Copley's  birth  has  been  generally  accepted  as  July 
8,  1737.  There  is,  however,  no  entry  in  the  Boston  Records  of  his  birth.  In  a  letter 
from  Copley  to  Peter  Pelham  dated  September  12,  1766,  he  writes  of  being  a  "batche- 
lor  of  twenty-eight."  This  would  indicate  his  birth  as  being  in  1738.  Copley  painted 
the  portrait  of  Reverend  William  Welsteed  as  early  as  1753,  and  his  engraving  of 
the  portrait  bears  that  date.  He  died  in  London  September  9,  1815. 


REV.   MYLES  COOPER 

1735  — 1785 
BY  JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY 

From  the  collection  of  Columbia  University 


COPLEY  IN  LONDON  119 

is  admitted  to  breathe  the  air  of  the  upper  region,  a  being  of 
a  superior  nature  from  those  with  whom  he  once  associated. 

Thus  disappointed,  we  have,  through  the  medium  of  a  friend, 
applied  to  another  of  Mr.  Copley's  children,  endeavoring  to 
find  the  date  of  his  birth,  and  other  circumstances  relative  to 
his  early  life  which  might  be  remembered  in  the  family  with 
pleasure,  and  recorded  to  his  credit.  We  are  referred  to  an 
article  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Americana"  for  information, 
which  was  communicated  to  Doctor  Leiber  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Clark  Green.  We  give  the  whole. 

"John  Singleton  Copley,  a  self-taught  and  distinguished 
painter,  was  born  in  1738,  in  Boston,  Mass.,  and  died  in  Lon- 
don, in  1815.  Copley  began  to  paint  at  a  very  early  age; 
and  pieces  executed  by  him  in  Boston,  before  (to  use  his  own 
words)  he  had  seen  any  tolerable  picture,  and  certainly  before 
he  could  have  received  any  instruction,  in  the  art  of  painting, 
from  the  lips  of  a  master,  show  his  natural  talent,  and,  in 
fact,  were  unsurpassed  by  his  later  productions.  He  did  not 
visit  Italy  till  1774.  In  1776  he  went  to  England,  where  he 
met  his  wife  and  children,  whom  he  left  in  Boston.  As  the 
struggle  between  England  and  America  had  begun  in  1775, 
there  was  neither  a  good  opportunity  for  Mr.  Copley  to  return 
to  his  native  land,  which  he  always  seems  to  have  had  in  view, 
nor  was  there  much  hope  of  success  for  an  artist  in  the  con- 
vulsed state  of  the  country.  He  therefore  devoted  himself  to 
portrait  painting  in  London,  and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Academy.  His  first  picture  which  may  be  called  historical, 
was  the  "Youth  rescued  from  a  Shark" ;  but  the  picture  styled 
the  "Death  of  Lord  Chatham,"  which  represents  the  great  ora- 
tor fainting  in  the  House  of  Lords,  after  the  memorable  speech  in 
favor  of  America,  and  contains,  at  the  same  time,  the  portraits 
of  all  the  leading  men  of  that  house,  at  once  established  his 
fame.  In  1790,  Copley  was  sent  by  the  city  of  London,  to 
Hanover,  to  take  the  portraits  of  four  Hanoverian  officers, 
commanders  of  regiments  associated  with  the  British  troops 
under  General  Elliot  (afterwards  Lord  Heathfield),  at  the  de- 
fence of  Gibraltar,  in  order  to  introduce  them  in  the  large 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

picture,  which  he  was  about  making  for  the  city,  of  the  siege 
and  relief  of  Gibraltar,  which  was  afterwards  placed  in  the 
council  chamber  of  Guildhall.  Mr.  Copley  pursued  his  pro- 
fession with  unabated  ardor,  until  his  sudden  death,  in  1815. 
Beside  the  pictures  already  mentioned,  and  a  number  of 
portraits,  including  those  of  members  of  the  royal  family,  the 
most  distinguished  of  his  productions,  are  Major  Pierson's 
death  on  the  Island  of  Jersey;  Charles  the  First  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  demanding  of  the  speaker,  Lenthall,  the  five  im- 
peached members,  containing  the  portraits  of  the  most  distin- 
guished members  of  that  house:  the  surrender  of  Admiral  De 
Winter  to  Lord  Duncan,  on  board  the  "  Venerable,"  off  Camper- 
down;  Samuel  and  Eli,  etc.;  of  all  of  which  engravings  exist, 
though  of  some  (for  instance  the  last-mentioned  piece),  they 
are  extremely  rare.  His  eldest  and  only  surviving  son,  John 
Singleton  Copley,  Lord  Lyndhurst,  high  chancellor  of  England, 
was  born  in  Boston,  May  21,  1772." 

We  will  now  proceed  to  our  task  with  some  degree  of  regu- 
larity. John  Singleton  Copley  was  born  at  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  the  year  1738;  thirteen  years  before  the  death  of 
John  Smibert.  He  was  son  of  John  Copley  and  Mary  Singleton 
his  wife,  who  emigrated  to  America  from  Ireland. 

Mr.  Copley  soon  evinced  such  excellence  as  a  portrait  painter 
that  he  commanded  the  time  and  purses  of  the  rich.  In  1768, 
we  find  Charles  Willson  Peale  journeying  from  Annapolis  to 
Boston,  to  seek  his  instruction. 

In  1771,  Mr.  Trumbull  says,  he  being  then  at  Cambridge 
College,  visited  Mr.  Copley  at  the  time  of  his  marriage.  He 
was  dressed  on  the  occasion  in  a  suit  of  crimson  velvet,  with 
gold  buttons,  and  the  elegance  displayed  by  Copley  in  his 
style  of  living,  added  to  his  high  repute  as  an  artist,  made  a  per- 
manent impression  on  Trumbull  in  favor  of  the  life  of  a  painter. 

Copley  married,  in  177 1,1  Miss  Clarke,  the  daughter  of  a 

1  Dunlap  is  in  error  in  the  date  of  Copley's  marriage.  John  Singleton  Copley  and 
Susannah  Farnum  Clarke  were  married  in  Boston  October  23,  1769,  according  to  the 
"Thirtieth  report  of  Boston  Record  Commissioners."  The  marriage  is  not  recorded 
in  the  Records  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church.  In  Rev.  Samuel  Cooper's  Almanac  the 
date  of  marriage  is  given  as^November  16,  1769. 


THE  PROSPEROUS  PAINTER  121 

merchant  of  Boston,  who  was  afterward  the  agent  of  the  English 
East  India  Company  for  the  sale  of  their  teas. 

In  1773  Copley  resided  some  time  in  New  York,  painting 
for  the  rich  and  fashionable.1  We  remember  particularly  the 
portrait  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  Ogilvie,  as  of  this  period.  The 
painter's  easel  was  in  Broadway,  on  the  west  side,  in  a  house 
which  was  burnt  in  the  great  conflagration  on  the  night  the 
British  army  entered  the  city  as  enemies. 

In  1774  Mr.  Copley  proceeded  to  England,  and  thence  to 
Italy,  leaving  his  wife  and  family  in  Boston.  On  his  return  to 
London  he  found  his  family  there;  they  having  left  America 
in  1776.2 

From  this  period  we  find  little  to  aid  us  in  our  notice  of  John 
Singleton  Copley,  except  Cunningham's  "  Lives  of  Painters." 
From  an  English  memoir  of  his  son  now  before  us,  we  copy 
the  following:  "Soon  after  the  father  of  the  present  chancellor 
settled  in  London,  he  became  a  member  of  the  academy  of 
painters,  and  attracted  considerable  notice  by  several  works  of 
superior  merit,  and  among  others,  the  "Death  of  LordChatham," 
and  the  "Defence  of  Gibraltar."  Mr.  Copley,  however,  soon 
discovered  that  portrait  painting,  which  recommends  itself  to 
the  personal  vanity  and  the  household  affections  of  all  man- 
kind, was  likely  to  be  a  more  lucrative  avocation  than  the 
severer  style  of  historical  painting,  and  to  the  former  he  suc- 
cessfully dedicated  himself,  and  gradually  rose  to  fortune  and 
reputation." 

The  few  ideas  conveyed  by  this  are  essentially  false.  Mr. 
Copley  never  adopted  the  severer  style  of  historical  painting. 
He  was  always  a  portrait  painter.  His  historical  compositions 
were  labored,  polished,  and  finished  from  the  ermine  and 
feather,  to  the  glossy  shoe  and  boot,  or  glittering  star  and 
buckle.  The  picture  called  the  "  Death  of  Chatham,"  is  a  col- 

1  Copley  painted  portraits  (37)  in  New  York  City  between  early  in  June  and  the 
latter  part  of  December,  1771  (Dunlap  is  in  error  in  giving  the  year  as  1773). 

2  Mrs.  Copley  sailed  for  England  from  Marblehead,  Mass.,  May  27,  1775,  arriving 
in  England  June  24,  1775,  (Dunlap  is  in  error  in  giving  the  year  as  1776),  remaining  in 
the  family  of  Mr.  Henry  BromGeld  until  she  was  joined  by  her  husband  on  his  arrival 
from  Italy,  the  latter  part  of  1775. 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

lection  of  portraits.  It  is  a  splendid  picture,  and  the  subject 
was  well  chosen  for  the  advancement  of  the  painter's  interest. 
The  exhibition  of  it  was  lucrative.  Neither  did  Mr.  Copley 
relinquish  historical  painting,  but  resorted  to  historical  com- 
position after  practising  portrait,  and  when  at  times  the  tide  of 
fashion  ebbed,  and  left  him  leisure  to  exercise  his  pencil  in 
the  more  arduous  branch  of  the  art. 

We  shall  borrow  from  Mr.  Cunningham's  work,  and  add 
such  knowledge  as  we  possess  or  can  obtain.  It  appears  that 
it  was  not  Copley's  loyalty  or  attachment  to  Great  Britain, 
which  occasioned  his  residence  there.  In  a  letter  from  John 
Scolley  of  Boston,  to  the  painter  in  1782,  he  says,  "I  trust 
amidst  this  blaze  of  prosperity  that  you  don't  forget  your  dear 
native  country,  and  the  cause  it  is  engaged  in,  which  I  know 
lay  once  near  your  heart,  and  I  trust  does  so  still." 

"It  is  noteworthy,"  says  Mr.  Cunningham,  "that  almost 
at  the  same  hour,  America  produced  amid  her  deserts  and 
her  trading  villages  two  distinguished  painters,  West  and 
Copley,  who  unknown  to  each  other  were  schooling  them- 
selves in  the  rudiments  of  the  art,  attempting  portraits  of  their 
friends  one  day,  and  historical  compositions  the  other;  study- 
ing nature  from  the  naked  Apollos  of  the  wilderness,  as  some 
one  called  the  native  warriors;  and  making  experiments  on 
all  manner  of  colors,  primitive  and  compound;  in  short, 
groping  through  inspiration,  the  right  way  to  eminence  and 
fame." 

We  must  strip  this  of  its  romance.  That  these  two  young 
men  found  the  way  to  eminence  and  fame  is  true,  but  not  in 
the  desert  or  the  wilderness.  Colors  were  to  be  found  at  the 
color  shops,  and  inspiration  —  heaven  knows  where !  It  was 
by  exerting  their  talents  perseveringly  in  pursuit  of  the  art  they 
loved,  seeking  and  obtaining  information  from  those  who  pre- 
ceded them,  and  never  deviating  from  the  path  which  wisdom 
and  virtue  pointed  out,  that  they  succeeded  and  obtained  their 
reward,  "eminence  and  fame." 

We  copy  the  following  from  Mr.  Cunningham.  "I  once 
heard  an  artist  say  that  the  fame  of  a  fine  painter  found  its  way 


THE   "BOY  WITH  THE  SQUIRREL"  123 

to  England  as  early  as  the  year  1760.  No  name  was  men- 
tioned. And  this,  he  said,  was  the  more  impressed  upon  his 
mind,  because  of  a  painting  of  'a  boy  and  a  tame  squirrel.' 
which  came  without  any  letter  or  artist's  name  to  one  of  the 
exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Academy;  and  when  its  natural 
action,  and  deep  vivid  coloring  made  the  academicians  anxious 
to  give  it  a  good  place,  they  were  at  a  loss  what  to  say  about 
it  in  the  catalogue,  but  from  the  frame  on  which  it  was  stretched, 
being  American  pine,  they  called  the  work  American.  The 
surmise  was  just;  it  was  a  portrait  by  Copley  of  his  half- 
brother  Harry  Pelham,  and  of  such  excellence  as  naturally 
raised  high  expectations."  The  Royal  Academy  was  not  estab- 
lished until  1769. 

The  Hon.  Gulian  C.  Verplanck  in  a  letter  to  us  says,  "In 
the  lives  of  Copley  I  see  that  he  gained  his  just  celebrity  in 
England  by  a  picture  of  a  boy  and  squirrel.  The  introduction 
of  a  squirrel  which  he  painted  beautifully,  and  whose  habits  he 
seems  to  have  studied,  was  a  favorite  idea  with  him.  I  have 
a  large  full  length  of  my  father  when  a  child,  playing  with  a 
squirrel."  This  picture  of  the  Hon.  Crommelin  Verplanck  was 
probably  painted  hi  1773,  when  Copley  resided  in  New  York.1 

Mr.  Cunningham  proceeds:  "In  1767,  when  Copley  was 
thirty  years  old  we  find  him  well  known  to  the  admirers  of 
art  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic:  he  was  then  a  constant  ex- 
hibitor in  the  British  Royal  Academy;  was  earning  a  decent 
subsistence  by  his  art  among  the  citizens  of  Boston;  had  proved, 
too,  that  praise  was  sweet  and  censure  bitter;  and  was,  more- 
over, sighing  for  a  sight  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  and  talking  of 
the  great  masters." 

As  before  noticed,  in  1768  the  British  Royal  Academy  was 
not  in  existence,  still  the  American  painter  may  have  exhibited 
his  pictures  at  the  Artists'  exhibition  room,  Spring  Garden,  and 
that  his  merit  was  well  known,  and  acknowledged  by  his 
countryman  West,  before  Copley  left  Boston,  is  proved  by 

1  The  picture  by  which  Copley  "gained  his  just  celebrity  in  England"  is  that  of 
the  "Boy  with  the  Squirrel"  for  which  his  hah*  brother  Henry  Pelham  sat.  It  was 
painted  in  1765  and  exhibited  in  London  in  1766.  The  portrait  of  Daniel  Crommelin 
Verplanck  ("  Boy  playing  with  a  Squirrel ")  was  painted  in  New  York  in  1771. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  first  of  the  following  extracts,  from  the  letters  of  a  distin- 
guished American  gentleman,  sent  to  us  enclosed  in  this  note: 

"Wednesday,  May  14,  1834. 

"Dear  Sir:  —  In  looking  over  some  letters  to  my  grandfather 
from  his  brother,  I  found  the  enclosed  passages,  which  may 
be  of  service  to  your  history  of  the  arts.  The  letters  are  from 
the  late  Gulian  Verplanck,  whom  you  doubtless  recollect  as 
for  many  years,  speaker  of  our  assembly,  president  of  the  bank 
of  New  York,  etc.,  etc.,  a  gentleman  of  much  taste  and 
cultivation. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"G.  C.  VERPLANCK." 

First,  "London,  Feb.  26,  1773.  —  I  may  tell  you  that  I  have 
been  introduced  to  Mr.  West,  and  have  made  some  acquaint- 
ance with  him.  He  is  of  very  genteel  behavior,  and  seems 
greatly  partial  to  Americans;  at  least  he  is  much  pleased  with 
visits  from  them.  He  speaks  very  highly  of  Mr.  Copley's 
merit,  and  declared  to  me,  that  in  his  opinion,  he  only  wanted 
the  advantage  of  studying  proper  masters  to  be  one  of  the 
first  painters  of  the  age.  I  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
greater  part  of  Mr.  West's  capital  paintings,  and  think  the 
"  Death  of  General  Wolfe  "  decidedly  the  best  production  of  his 
pencil.  It  will  be  a  long  time  before  you  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  judging  of  its  merit  in  America,  as  it  has  lately  been 
delivered  to  the  engraver,  who  will  require  at  least  two  years 
to  complete  a  plate." 

Second,  "Rome,  March  12,  1775.  —  I  have  the  satisfaction 
of  finding  Mr.  Copley  in  Italy,  whom  I  persuaded  to  go  to 
Naples  with  me.  He  has  just  finished  two  excellent  portraits 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Izard  of  S.  C.,  who  are  likewise  here;  from 
the  improvement  he  has  already  made  in  his  manner,  and  will 
continue  to  make  from  studying  the  works  of  the  greatest 
masters,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  he  will  soon  rank  with  the 
first  artists  of  the  age."  We  recur  to  Cunningham:  - 

"He  thus  sets  forth  his  feelings  in  a  letter  to  Captain  Bruce, 
a  gentleman  of  some  taste,  who  seems  to  have  been  an  admirer 


COPLEY  SEEKS  WEST'S  ADVICE  125 

of  the  works  of  Copley  —  'I  would  gladly  exchange  my  situa- 
tion for  the  serene  climate  of  Italy,  or  even  that  of  England; 
but  what  would  be  the  advantage  of  seeking  improvement  at 
such  an  outlay  of  time  and  money?  I  am  now  in  as  good 
business  as  the  poverty  of  this  place  will  admit.  I  make  as 
much  as  if  I  were  a  Raphael  or  a  Correggio ;  and  three  hundred 
guineas  a  year,  my  present  income,  is  equal  to  nine  hundred  a 
year  in  London.  With  regard  to  reputation,  you  are  sensible 
that  fame  cannot  be  durable  where  pictures  are  confined  to 
sitting  rooms,  and  regarded  only  for  the  resemblance  they  bear 
to  their  originals.  Were  I  sure  of  doing  as  well  in  Europe  as 
here,  I  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  in  my  choice;  but  I  might 
in  the  experiment  waste  a  thousand  pounds  and  two  years  of 
my  time,  and  have  to  return  baffled  to  America.  Then  I 
should  have  to  take  my  mother  with  me,  who  is  ailing:  she 
does  not,  however,  seem  averse  to  cross  the  salt  water  once 
more;  but  my  failure  would  oblige  me  to  recross  the  sea  again. 
My  ambition  whispers  me  to  run  this  risk;  and  I  think  the  time 
draws  nigh  that  must  determine  my  future  fortune.'  In  some- 
thing of  the  same  strain  and  nearly  at  the  same  time  Copley 
wrote  to  his  countryman  West,  then  in  high  favor  at  the 
British  court.  'You  will  see  by  the  two  pictures  I  have  lately 
sent  to  your  exhibition,  what  improvement  I  may  still  make, 
and  what  encouragement  I  may  reasonably  expect.  I  must 
beg,  however,  that  you  will  not  suffer  your  benevolent  wishes 
for  my  welfare  to  induce  you  to  think  more  favorably  of  my 
works  than  they  deserve.  To  give  you  a  further  opportunity 
of  judging,  I  shall  send  over  to  your  care  for  the  exhibition  the 
portrait  of  a  gentleman,  now  nearly  finished:  the  owner  will 
be  in  London  at  the  same  time.  If  your  answer  should  be  in 
favor  of  my  visit  to  Europe,  I  must  beg  of  you  to  send  it  as 
soon  as  you  can,  otherwise  I  must  abide  here  another  year, 
when  my  mother  might  be  so  infirm  as  to  be  unable  to  accom- 
pany me;  and  I  cannot  think  of  leaving  her.  Your  friendly 
invitation  to  your  house,  and  your  offer  to  propose  me  as 
a  member  of  the  society,  are  matters  which  I  shall  long 
remember.' 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"What  the  answers  of  Bruce  and  West  were,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  learn:  but  it  is  to  be  supposed  they  still  left  it  a  matter 
of  uncertainty,  whether  it  would  be  more  profitable  to  go  to 
London  or  remain  in  Boston.  Success  the  wisest  head  can- 
not ensure;  sensible  and  prudent  mediocrity  frequently  wins 
what  true  genius  cannot  obtain  —  the  race  of  reputation  is,  in 
short,  the  most  slippery  and  uncertain  of  all  races.  As  seven 
years  elapsed  from  this  time  till  he  finally  set  sail  for  Italy,  we 
must  suppose  that  Copley  was  busy  extending  his  fame  with 
his  pencil,  and  hoarding  his  earnings  for  the  outlay  of  travel 
and  study.  He  had,  as  he  acknowledged  to  West,  as  many 
commissions  in  Boston  as  he  could  execute.  The  price  for 
his  half  lengths  was  fourteen  guineas;  and  he  also  executed 
many  likenesses  in  crayons;  he  was,  therefore,  waxing  compara- 
tively rich.  He  was  not  one  of  those  inconsiderate  enthusiasts, 
who  rashly  run  into  undertakings  which  promise  no  certain 
return.  He  had  labored  as  students  seldom  labor  now  for  his 
knowledge,  and  for  the  remuneration  which  it  brought;  and 
he  was  wise  not  to  commit  his  all  to  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 
He  had  continued  a  bachelor,  according  to  the  precept  of 
Reynolds,  that  he  might  be  able  to  pursue  his  studies  without 
offering  up  his  time  and  money  at  the  altar  of  that  expensive 
idol,  a  wife;  and  he  had  sent  over  various  pictures,  chiefly 
portraits  in  fancy  postures  and  employments,  with  the  hope 
of  finding  customers  for  them  in  the  English  market.  He  thus 
writes  to  Captain  Bruce:  'Both  my  brother's  portrait  and  the 
little  girl's,  or  either  of  them,  I  am  quite  willing  to  part  with, 
should  any  one  incline  to  purchase  them,  at  such  a  price  as 
you  may  think  proper.'  I  have  not  heard  that  he  held  any 
further  consultations  with  captains  or  academicians,  respect- 
ing his  studies  in  Europe:  the  growing  discord  in  America 
was  a  sharp  sword  that  urged  him  onward;  so  in  1774,  having 
arranged  his  affairs,  left  a  number  of  paintings  in  the  custody 
of  his  mother,  and  put  in  his  pocket  enough  of  his  winnings 
for  a  three  years'  campaign  in  the  old  world,  he  set  sail  for 
Italy,  by  the  way  of  England." 

We  have  seen  many  of  his  portraits  in  New  York  and  Bos- 


A  DISAGREEABLE  COMPANION  127 

ton,  painted  before  he  left  America.  They  are  in  some  respects 
better  than  his  London  portraits.  One  picture,  the  likeness 
of  Judge  Bacon's  mother,  we  found  in  a  city  now  as  populous  as 
Boston  was  when  the  portrait  was  painted,  the  site  of  which  was 
literally  a  wilderness  for  fifteen  years  after  Copley  left  America. 
TJtica,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  is  surrounded  in  every  direc- 
tion by  a  dense  and  happy  population.  The  picture  alluded 
to  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  artist's  drawing  and  coloring,  and 
still  more  of  elaborate  finishing. 

After  reminding  the  reader  that  Mr.  Copley  was  a  married 
man,  and  a  father  before  he  left  home,  we  recur  to  Cunningham: 

"In  London  he  found  few  friends,  and  many  counsellors; 
and  left  it  for  Rome,  August  26th,  1774.1  It  was  his  misfor- 
tune to  choose  for  his  companion  an  artist  of  the  name  of  Car- 
ter; a  captious,  cross-grained,  and  self -conceited  person,  who 
kept  a  regular  journal  of  his  tour,  in  which  he  remorselessly 
set  down  the  smallest  trifle  that  could  bear  a  construction  un- 
favorable to  the  American's  character.  A  few  specimens  may 
amuse  the  reader,  e.g.  — '  This  companion  of  mine  is  rather  a 
singular  character;  he  seems  happy  at  taking  things  at  the 
wrong  end;  and  labored  near  an  hour  to-day  to  prove  that  a 
huckabuck  towel  was  softer  than  a  Barcelona  silk  handker- 
chief.' .  .  .  'My  agreeable  companion  suspects  he  has  got  a 
cold  upon  his  lungs.  He  is  now  sitting  by  a  fire,  the  heat  of 
which  makes  me  very  faint;  a  silk  handkerchief  about  his  head, 
and  a  white  pocket  one  about  his  neck,  applying  fresh  fuel,  and 
complaining  that  the  wood  of  this  country  don't  give  half  the 
heat  that  the  wood  of  America  does;  and  has  just  finished  a 
long-winded  discourse  upon  the  merits  of  an  American  wood 
fire,  in  preference  to  one  of  our  coal.  He  has  never  asked  me 
yet,  and  we  have  been  up  an  hour,  how  I  do,  or  how  I  have 
passed  the  night:  'tis  an  engaging  creature.'  Upon  another 
occasion  one  traveller  wishes  to  walk,  the  other  is  determined 

1  Copley  arrived  in  Paris  September  1, 1774,  and  left  that  city  September  9,  writing 
from  Lyons,  France,  under  date  of  September  15,  again  writing  from  Marseilles  Septem- 
ber 25.  He  was  at  Geneva  October  8,  1774.  He  wrote  from  Rome  October  26,  1774, 
remaining  in  Italy  until  May  of  1775,  when  he  returned  by  way  of  Germany,  Belgium 
and  France  to  England,  arriving  late  in  1775. 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

to  ride,  and  they  stop  in  a  shower  to  debate  it.  "We  had  a 
very  warm  altercation,  and  I  was  constrained  to  tell  him,  'Sir, 
we  are  now  more  than  eight  hundred  miles  from  home,  through 
all  which  way  you  have  not  had  a  single  care  that  I  could 
alleviate;  I  have  taken  as  much  pains  as  to  the  mode  of  con- 
veying you,  as  if  you  had  been  my  wife;  and  I  cannot  help 
telling  you,  that  she,  though  a  delicate  little  woman,  accom- 
modated her  feelings  to  her  situation  with  much  more  temper 
than  you  have  done.'  "  .  .  .  .  'There  is  nothing  that  he  is  not 
master  of.  On  asking  him  to-day  what  they  called  that  weed 
in  America,  pointing  to  some  fern;  he  said  he  knew  it  very 
well;  there  was  a  deal  of  it  in  America,  but  he  had  never 
heard  its  name.'  ....  'My  companion  is  solacing  himself, 
that  if  they  go  on  in  America  for  a  hundred  years  to  come,  as 
they  have  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  past,  they  shall  have  an 
independent  government:  the  woods  will  be  cleared,  and, 
lying  in  the  same  latitude,  they  shall  have  the  same  air  as  in 
the  south  of  France;  art  would  then  be  encouraged  there,  and 
great  artists  would  arise.'  These  ill-matched  fellow-voyagers, 
soon  after  then*  arrival  in  Rome,  separated;  and  Carter  closes 
with  the  following  kind  description  of  Copley,  as  he  appeared 
on  the  road  in  his  travelling  trim:  —  -  'He  had  on  one  of  those 
white  French  bonnets,  which,  turned  on  one  side,  admit  of 
being  pulled  over  the  ears:  under  this  was  a  yellow  and  red 
silk  handkerchief,  with  a  large  Catharine  wheel  flambeaued 
upon  it,  such  as  may  be  seen  upon  the  necks  of  those  delicate 
ladies  who  cry  Malton  oysters:  this  flowed  half  way  down  his 
back.  He  wore  a  red-brown,  or  rather  cinnamon,  great  coat, 
with  a  friar's  cape,  and  worsted  binding  of  a  yellowish  white; 
it  hung  near  his  heels,  out  of  which  peeped  his  boots:  under 
his  arm  he  carried  the  sword  which  he  bought  in  Paris,  and  a 
hickory  stick  with  an  ivory  head.  Joined  to  this  dress,  he  was 
very  thin,  pale,  a  little  pock-marked,  prominent  eyebrows, 
small  eyes,  which,  after  fatigue,  seemed  a  day's  march  in  his 
head.' 

"Copley  was,  no  doubt,  glad  to  be  relieved  from  the  com- 
pany^of  a  man  who  was  peevish  without  ill  health;  who,  with 


VISITING  THE  CENTERS  OF  ART  129 

his  smattering  of  Italian,  continually  crowed  over  one  who 
could  only  speak  English;  who  constantly  contradicted  him 
in  company;  and,  finally  caricatured  him  when  they  parted. 
Our  painter,  in  speaking  afterward  of  his  bore,  said  'he  was  a 
sort  of  snail  which  crawled  over  a  man  in  his  sleep,  and  left  its 
slime  and  DO  more.' 

"Of  Copley's  proceedings  in  Rome  we  have  no  account;  but 
we  find  him  writing  thus  by  May,  1775.  —  'Having  seen  the 
Roman  school,  and  the  wonderful  efforts  of  genius  exhibited 
by  Grecian  artists,  I  now  wish  to  see  the  Venetian  and  Flemish 
schools:  there  is  a  kind  of  luxury  in  seeing,  as  well  as  there  is 
in  eating  and  drinking;  the  more  we  indulge,  the  less  are  we 
to  be  restrained;  and  indulgence  in  art  I  think  innocent  and 
laudable.  I  have  not  one  letter  to  any  person  in  all  my  in- 
tended route,  and  I  may  miss  the  most  beautiful  things;  I 
beg  you  therefore,  to  assist  and  advise  me.  I  propose  to  leave 
Rome  about  the  20th  of  May;  go  to  Florence,  Parma,  Mantua, 
Venice,  Inspruck,  Augsburg,  Stuttgardt,  Manheim,  Coblentz, 
Cologne,  Dusseldorf,  Utrecht,  Amsterdam,  Leyden,  Rotter- 
dam, Antwerp,  Brussels,  Ghent,  Bruges,  Lille,  Paris,  London. 
The  only  considerable  stay  which  I  intend  to  make  will  be  at 
Parma,  to  copy  the  fine  Correggio.  Art  is  in  its  utmost  per- 
fection here;  a  mind  susceptible  of  the  fine  feelings  which  art 
is  calculated  to  excite,  will  find  abundance  of  pleasure  in  this 
country.  The  Apollo,  the  Laocoon,  etc.,  leave  nothing  for 
the  human  mind  to  wish  for;  more  cannot  be  effected  by  the 
genius  of  man  than  what  is  happily  combined  in  those  miracles 
of  the  chisel.' 

"No  memorial  remains  of  what  he  said  or  did  in  the  route 
marked  out  in  this  letter,  save  the  copy  of  the  Parma  Correg- 
gio. His  imitation  is  in  England,  and  may  be  compared, 
without  injury  to  his  name,  with  any  copies  made  by  his 
brethren  of  the  British  school. 

"In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1775,  Copley  reached  London; 
and  set  up  his  easel,  25  George  Street,  Hanover  Square.  West 
was  as  good  as  his  word:  he  introduced  him  to  the  academy; 
in.  1777  he  became  an  associate;  and  in  February,  1783,  we 


ISO  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

find  the  king  sanctioning  his  election  as  a  royal  academician. 

"By  this  time  Copley's  name  had  been  established  by  works 
of  eminent  merit;  among  the  first  of  which  was  'The  Death 
of  Chatham.'  The  chief  excellence  of  this  picture  is  the  accu- 
rate delineation  of  that  impressive  event,  and  the  vast  number 
of  noble  heads,  all  portraits,  with  which  the  House  of  Lords  is 
thronged;  its  chief  fault  is  an  air  of  formality,  and  a  deficiency 
of  deep  feeling :  yet,  it  must  be  owned  that  those  who  are  near 
the  dying  statesman  are  sufficiently  moved.  All  lords  could 
not  feel  alike;  —  some  seem  standing  for  their  portraits;  some 
seem  anxious  about  their  places;  and  others,  from  their  looks, 
may  be  supposed  inwardly  rejoicing  that  death,  having  struck 
the  head  of  the  administration,  seems  satisfied  with  his  prey. 
Praise  poured  in  upon  the  successful  painter  from  all  quarters; 
no  people  were  more  pleased  than  his  old  companions  in 
America;  and  many  letters  were  addressed  to  him  from  grave 
and  aged  persons. --'I  delight,'  said  the  venerable  Mather 
Byles,  of  Boston,  'in  the  fame  you  have  acquired;  and  I  delight 
in  being  ranked  among  your  earliest  friends.'  No  one,  it  may 
be  believed,  rejoiced  more  than  his  mother.  She  was  now 
very  old,  feeble  in  body,  sinking  silently  into  the  grave;  had 
suffered  in  peace  of  mind,  and  in  property,  during  the  war  of 
separation;  but  what  she  lamented  most  were  the  interruptions 
which  took  place  in  a  correspondence  with  her  son:  private 
letters  were  sometimes  detained  by  the  government,  and  she 
was  months  without  the  solace  of  his  handwriting.  It  appears, 
too,  that  her  circumstances  were  far  from  affluent ;  and  it  must 
be  related  to  the  honor  of  all  concerned,  that  she  made  no 
complaint,  and  that  her  son  did  not  forget  her,  or  any  of  his 
relatives,  amid  all  his  prosperity. 

"The  fame  which  Copley  acquired,  and  the  value  which  he 
put  upon  this  noble  picture,  brought  him,  along  with  many 
friends,  a  few  detractors.  To  have  refused  1500  guineas,  was, 
in  the  sight  of  some,  offence  enough;  nor  was  this  forgotten, 
when  some  time  afterward  the  fame  of  the  painting  was  revived 
by  a  splendid  engraving  of  large  size,  of  which  no  less  than 
five-and-twenty  hundred  impressions  were  sold  in  a  very  few 


FAME  OF  "THE  DEATH  OF  CHATHAM"  131 

weeks.  He  was  advised  to  exhibit  the  picture;  and  naturally 
preferring  the  time  when  the  town  is  fullest,  hired  a  room,  and 
announced  his  intention,  without  reflecting  that  the  Royal 
Academy  Exhibition  was  about  to  open.  He  met  with  unex- 
pected opposition.  Sir  William  Chambers  remonstrated:  — 
The  room  which  was  chosen  belonged  to  the  king;  it  was  his 
duty,  he  said,  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  Royal  Academy, 
which  were  sure  to  suffer  from  such  partial  exhibitions;  and  he 
interposed,  lest  the  world  should  think  that  the  king,  who  had 
aided  and  protected  the  academy,  now  countenanced  an  exhi- 
bition injurious  to  its  welfare,  and  contrary  to  the  spirit  and 
rules  of  the  institution.  This,  Copley  thought  a  little  too 
autocratic  in  the  architect,  who,  moreover,  had  not  hesitated  to 
imbitter  his  opposition  by  most  gratuitous  incivilities.  Those 
who  desire  to  know  how  men  of  eminence  in  art  addressed 
each  other  in  the  year  1781,  may  consult  the  conclusion  of 
Sir  William's  epistle:  —  'No  one  wishes  Mr.  Copley  greater 
success,  or  is  more  sensible  of  his  merit,  than  his  humble  ser- 
vant; who,  if  he  may  be  allowed  to  give  his  opinion,  thinks  no 
place  so  proper  as  the  royal  exhibition  to  promote  either  the 
sale  of  prints,  or  the  raffle  for  the  picture,  which  he  understands 
are  Mr.  Copley's  motives:  or,  if  that  should  be  objected  to,  he 
thinks  no  place  so  proper  as  Mr.  Copley's  own  house,  where 
the  idea  of  a  raree-show  will  not  be  quite  so  striking  as  in  any 
other  place,  and  where  his  own  presence  will  not  fail  to  be  of 
service  to  his  views.'  The  painter  was  much  incensed  by  this 
language,  and  had  some  intention,  when  he  moved  his  picture 
to  another  place,  of  stating  publicly  the  cause  of  this  vexatious 
change :  he  did,  however,  what  many  wise  men  do  —  having 
vented  his  wrath  and  sarcasm  on  paper  in  the  morning,  he 
sweetened  the  bitterness  of  the  invective  a  little  at  mid-day, 
laughed  at  the  whole  affair  in  the  evening,  and  threw  the  satire 
into  the  fire  before  he  went  to  bed.  The  picture  was  so  much 
admired,  that  the  artist  was  emboldened  to  have  an  engraving 
made  from  it  of  unusual  size,  viz.,  thirty  inches  long  and  twenty- 
two  inches  and  a  half  high,  by  the  hand  of  Bartolozzi. 

"When  this  great  plate  was  finished,  he  was  remembered  by 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

all  those  to  whom  he  had  happened  to  give  offence;  more  par- 
ticularly by  those  who  were  envious  of  his  success.  They 
spread  a  report  everywhere  that  he  had  fraudulently  withheld 
from  his  subscribers  the  early  impressions  to  which  the  order 
of  signatures  entitled  them.  This  audacious  calumny  was 
promptly  refuted;  four  gentlemen  of  taste  and  talent,  one  of 
them  Edmund  Malone,  took  up  the  cause  of  their  injured 
friend,  and  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public  —  first,  that 
Bartolozzi  received  £2000  for  the  plate;  secondly,  that  the 
number  of  subscribers,  from  April,  1780,  to  August,  1782, 
amounted  to  1750;  thirdly,  that  2438  impressions  were  taken 
in  all;  fourthly,  that  320  proofs  were  struck  from  the  plate; 
and,  finally,  that  the  impressions  were  delivered  to  the  sub- 
scribers according  to  the  order  of  subscription.  The  appro- 
bation of  many  good  judges  compensated,  for  the  pain  which 
this  rumor  occasioned:  he  could  not  but  feel  gratified  with 
the  united  thanks  of  Washington  and  Adams,  to  whom  he  had 
presented  two  of  the  prints:  —  'This  work,'  says  the  former, 
*  highly  valuable  in  itself,  is  rendered  more  estimable  'in  my 
eye,  when  I  remember  that  America  gave  birth  to  the  cele- 
brated artist  who  produced  it.'  —  'I  shall  preserve  my  copy,' 
said  the  latter,  'both  as  a  token  of  your  friendship,  and  as  an 
indubitable  proof  of  American  genius.'  ' 

In  the  year  1784,  the  writer  carried  letters  to  Mr.  Copley 
from  his  wife's  relatives  in  New  York.  In  the  summer  of  that 
year  were  on  exhibition  the  great  historical  pictures  of  the 
"Death  of  Chatham,"  "The  Youth  rescued  from  a  Shark," 
and  "The  Death  of  Major  Pierson." 

The  history  of  England  is  the  history  of  our  fathers.  It  is 
our  history  to  the  time  of  separation  by  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  of  1776.  The  good  and  the  bad  of  English 
history  are  ours  up  to  that  tune,  and  as  much  belonging  to  us 
as  to  those  who  now  inhabit  the  island  of  Great  Britain.  We 
inherit  the  blessings  proceeding  from  her  patriots  and  heroes  — 
her  poets  and  sages;  and  the  curses  entailed  upon  us  by  her  mis- 
taken statesmen  and  avaricious  merchants.  Shakspeare  and 
Milton  —  Bacon,  Locke,  and  Newton,  are  ours,  and  their  minds 


PAINTING  HISTORICAL  SUBJECTS  133 

are  mingled  with  our  intellectual  being.  So  the  deeds  of 
Hampden  and  Sidney,  and  all  the  men  who  thought  and 
fought,  and  bled  for  liberty  of  mind  and  body,  are  subjects  for 
the  pencils  of  American  painters.  Mr.  Copley  chose  and  finely 
executed  one  great  picture  from  this  period  of  English  history, 
"The  Arjestjofjhe  Five  Members  of  the  Commons,  by  Charles 
the  First."  But  Copley  was,  vvhcii  HSHUVed  tu  England,  no 
longer  an  American  painter  in  feeling;  and  his  choice  of  sub- 
jects for  historical  composition,  was  decided  by  the  circum- 
stances of  the  time,  or  by  employers.  The  picture  called  the 
Death  of  Lord  Chatham,  is  connected  with  the  history  of 
America.  He  received  the  dart  of  death  (for  he  never  recovered 
from  the  fainting  of  that  day),  exerting  himself  in  opposition 
to  that  independence  which  is  our  glory,  and  which  with  its 
offspring,  our  union  under  the  federal  constitution,  is  the  source 
of  all  our  political  happiness.  The  subject  was  worthy  of  the 
historical  painter.  It  is  the  last  scene  in  the  public  life  of  a 
great  man.  The  last  exertion  of  his  transcendent  powers  for 
what  he  thought  the  honor  and  interest  of  his  country.  He 
died  exerting  his  eloquence  to  rouse  his  countrymen  to  redouble 
their  efforts  for  the  destruction  of  our  liberties. 

The  second  picture  that  we  have  mentioned  above,  repre- 
sents the  rescuing  of  Brooko  Watoon-(an  American  adventurer 
from  one  of  the  New  England  provinces,  who  was  afterwards 
commissary  general  of  the  English  armies  in  America,  lord 
mayor  "of  great  London,"  and  a  member  of  the  parliament 
of  Great  Britain),  from  the  jaws  of  a  shark,  in  the  harbor  of 
the  Havana.  This  individual  is  memorable  as  arrayed  with 
our  enemies  in  opposition  to  our  independence,  and  with  the 
enemies  of  God  and  man  in  opposition  to  the  abolitionists  of 
the  slave  trade  in  the  English  House  of  Commons.  Before  he 
avowedly  joined  the  standard  of  Britain,  the  traitor  ingratiated 
himself  with  many  leading  Americans,  obtained  as  much  in- 
formation of  their  designs  as  he  could,  and  transmitted  it  to  his 
chosen  masters.  In  the  character  of  legislator,  his  argument  in 
support  of  the  trade  in  human  flesh  was  that  it  would  injure  the 
market  for  the  refuse  fish  of  the  English  fisheries  to  abolish 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS   OF   DESIGN 

it  —  these  refuse  fish  being  purchased  by  the  West  India 
planters  for  their  slaves.  To  immortalize  such  a  man  was  the 
pencil  of  Copley  employed.  The  picture  may  be  seen  in 
"Christ's  Hospital  School,"  and  the  debate  in  which  this  ar- 
gument is  urged  may  be  read  in  the  records  of  "St.  Stephen's 
Chapel."  Both  holy  places. 

The  third  picture  above  mentioned,  and  a  very  fine  one  it 
is,  represents  the  death  of  Major  Pierson,  in  a  skirmish  on 
the  island  of  Jersey. 

West,  as  we  have  seen,  produced,  in  his  "Death  of  Wolfe," 
the  first  historical  picture  of  this  species.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  three  Americans  in  succession  painted  successfully  in  this 
style,  and  led  the  way  to  Europeans.  West,  the  founder,  the 
inventor,  the  original,  the  master;  Copley,  the  second,  his 
immediate  follower;  and  Trumbull,  painting  under  West's 
eye,  the  third.  West's  Wolfe  is  not  only  the  first  in  point  of 
time,  but  the  first  in  excellence;  Copley's  the  second;  and 
Trumbull's  "Bunker  Hill"  the  third.  Copley,  in  the  years 
1786-7,  painted  another  picture  of  this  class,  his  Elliot  at 
Gibraltar  (if  his  daughter  is  correct,  as  quoted  above,  this 
picture  was  not  finished  in  1790;  I  saw  it  in  progress  as  early 
as  1787),  and  Trumbull  followed  with  a  picture  on  a  similar 
subject,  Elliot's  triumph  over  the  French  and  Spanish  com- 
bined forces  at  Gibraltar.  Of  these  three  Americans,  West 
painted  the  triumph  of  the  colonists  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
European  soldiers  over  France,  and  the  establishment  thereby 
of  the  Protestant  religion  and  the  liberties  of  the  colonies;  he 
composed  the  first  picture  of  the  heroic  class  in  which  modern 
costume  was  introduced,  and  has  all  the  merit  of  original  dar- 
ing with  perfect  success;  Copley  followed  in  his  track,  second 
in  all,  though  displaying  great  talents:  Trumbull  followed,  with 
both  before  him,  in  every  sense. 

I  will  now  recur  to  Mr.  Cunningham,  and  the  reader  will 
find  just  opinions  and  descriptions  of  the  above  pictures  of  Mr. 
Copley's,  as  well  as  others: 

"At  this  time  historical  painting  seemed  to  have  a  chance 
of  taking  a  hold  on  public  affection;  the  king  patronized  it 


"THE  DEATH  OF  MAJOR  PIERSON"  135 

openly;  several  dignitaries  of  the  church,  and  sundry  noble- 
men, obeyed  their  own  taste,  or  the  example  of  the  throne,  and 
ordered  pictures;  and  finally,  Alderman  Boydell  entered  into 
a  covenant  with  a  number  of  the  academicians  to  unite  their 
talents,  and  form  a  gallery  of  English  works  in  the  manner  of 
some  of  those  in  foreign  lands;  we  have  stated  this  more  fully 
elsewhere;  at  present  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Copley  was 
one  of  the  select,  and  that  various  subjects  presented  them- 
selves to  his  fancy:  1.  The  Assassination  of  Buckingham; 
2.  Charles  signing  Straff ord's  Death  Warrant;  3.  Charles  ad- 
dressing the  Citizens  of  London;  4.  The  Five  Impeached 
Members  brought  in  Triumph  to  Westminster;  5.  The  Speaker 
of  the  Commons  thanks  the  City  Sheriffs  for  protecting  the 
Five  Impeached  Members;  6.  The  Members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  appear  before  the  Army  on  Hounslow;  7.  London 
sends  Six  Aldermen  to  General  Monk,  and  submits;  8.  The 
Lord  Mayor  presenting  a  Gold  Cup  to  Monk;  9.  The  General 
conducts  the  Members  back  to  Westminster  Hall;  10.  The 
King's  Escape  from  Hampton  Court.  It  must  be  confessed 
that  some  of  these  themes  smack  of  Bow  Bells  and  Cheapside; 
they  were  probably  suggested  to  Copley  by  the  worthy  alder- 
man, who  was  anxious  to  honor  his  predecessors,  in  the  hope 
of  not  being  forgotten  himself.  While  this  list  was  under  con- 
sideration, an  event  happened,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  which 
furnished  a  subject  of  more  immediate  interest. 

"The  French  invaded  Jersey;  stormed  St.  Helier;  took 
the  commander  prisoner,  and  compelled  him  to  sign  the  sur- 
render of  the  island.  Major  Pierson,  a  youth  of  twenty-four, 
refused  to  yield  —  collected  some  troops  —  charged  the  invad- 
ers with  equal  courage  and  skill  —  defeated  them  with  much 
effusion  of  blood,  but  fell  himself  in  the  moment  of  victory,  not 
by  a  random  shot,  but  by  a  ball  aimed  deliberately  at  him  by 
a  French  officer,  who  fell  in  his  turn,  shot  through  the  heart 
by  the  African  servant  of  the  dying  victor.  It  is  enough  to 
say  in  praise  of  any  work,  that  it  is  worthy  of  such  a  scene. 
The  first  print  I  ever  saw  was  from  this  picture:  it  was  en- 
graved by  Heath;  and  equals  in  dimensions  that  of  'The 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Death  of  Chatham.'  I  was  very  young,  not  ten  years  old; 
but  the  scene  has  ever  since  been  present  to  my  fancy.  I 
thought  then,  what  I  think  still,  on  looking  at  the  original  — 
that  it  is  stamped  with  true  life  and  heroism:  there  is  nothing 
mean,  nothing  little,  —  the  fierce  fight,  the  affrighted  women, 
the  falling  warrior,  and  the  avenging  of  his  death,  are  all 
there:  this  story  is  finely  told.  The  picture  was  painted  for 
Boydell:  long  afterward,  when  his  gallery  was  dispersed,  it 
was  purchased  back  by  Copley,  and  is  now  in  the  keeping 
of  his  distinguished  son,  Lord  Lyndhurst. 

"His  next  subject  was  a  much  more  magnificent  one,  but 
too  vast  and  varied  perhaps  —  the  repulse  and  defeat  of  the 
Spanish  floating  batteries  at  Gibraltar.  The  common  council 
of  London  commissioned  this  picture  for  their  hall;  and  they 
gave  ample  space  and  verge  enough,  wherein  to  trace  the  be- 
leaguered rock  and  its  fiery  assailants;  viz.,  a  panel  twenty-five 
feet  long  and  twenty-two  feet  and  a  half  high.  In  this  great 
picture,  as  in  others,  he  introduced  many  portraits;  the  gallant 
Lord  Heathfield  himself  is  foremost  in  the  scene  of  death;  and 
near  him  appear  Sir  Robert  Boyd,  Sir  William  Green,  chief 
engineer,  and  others,  to  the  amount  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen.  The 
fire  of  the  artillery  has  slackened;  the  floating  batteries,  on 
whose  roofs  thirteen-inch  shells  and  showers  of  thirty-two 
pound  balls  had  fallen  harmless,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
are  now  sending  up  flames  on  all  sides;  while  their  mariners 
are  leaping  in  scores  into  the  sea.  The  scene  of  desolation  is 
certainly  grand.  There  is,  however,  a  want  of  true  perspective : 
the  defenders  of  the  rock  are  like  the  children  of  Anak;  the 
perishing  mariners,  at  the  very  line  where  the  sea  washes  the 
defences  of  stone,  are  less  than  ordinary  mortals.  The  figures 
have  been  charged  with  looking  more  formal  and  stiff  than 
nature.  This  may  be  too  severe  —  but  on  the  whole  I  cannot 
class  the  piece  with  his  happiest  works.  I  may  mention  here 
a  work  bequeathed  by  Copley  to  that  noble  institution, 
Christ's  Hospital  School,  painted  early  in  his  career,  and 
representing  the  escape  of  Brooke  Watson,  when  a  sea  boy, 
from  a  shark.  He  was  bathing  at  Havana;  a  shark  seized 


BROOKE  WATSON  THE  TORY  137 

his  foot  and  snapped  it  off,  and  was  about  to  devour  him,  when 
a  seaman  struck  the  monster  between  the  eyes  with  a  heavy 
boat  hook,  and  saved  his  companion.  The  terror  of  the  boy 
—  the  fury  of  the  fish  —  and  the  resolution  of  the  mariner,  are 
well  represented;  while  the  agitated  water  in  which  the  scene 
is  laid  seems  bloody." 

In  addition  to  what  I  have  said  of  Brooke  Watson,  I  will  add 
that  he  was  at  Montreal  when  the  patriotic  Colonel  Allen 
made  his  rash  attempt  to  take  that  place  in  October,  1775. 
He  accompanied  Allen,  who  was  taken  prisoner  and  kept  in 
irons,  to  England;  and  treated  him  with  cruelty  and  abuse. 

We  saw,  when  in  London,  a  full-length  by  Copley,  repre- 
senting John  Adams  as  the  first  ambassador  of  the  United 
States  to  the  court  of  St.  James.  To  that  king  whose  subject 
he  had  been  born,  and  from  whom  he  had  been  a  most  efficient 
instrument  in  rescuing  millions  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
ruled  by  the  laws  framed  by  the  British  parliament,  and  by 
the  bayonets  of  British  mercenaries,  equally  interested  in 
plundering  and  trampling  on  them.  Cunningham  says : 

"Subjects  from  British  history  and  British  poetry  were 
what  Copley  chiefly  found  pleasure  in.  The  first  installation 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Patrick  seemed  to  him  a  subject  worthy  of 
the  pencil;  and  Edmund  Ma  lone  readily  aided  him  with  his 
knowledge ;  and  the  Irish  nobility,  with  but  one  exception  or  so, 
offered  to  give  him  the  advantage  of  then*  faces,  so  that  the 
whole  might  bear  the  true  image  of  the  green  isle.  Of  this 
projected  work  the  painter  thus  speaks:  'I  think  it  a  magnifi- 
cent subject  for  painting;  and  my  desire  is  to  treat  it  in  an 
historic  style,  and  make  it  a  companion  to  the  picture  of  Lord 
Chatham:  filling  the  whole  with  the  portraits  of  the  knights 
and  other  great  characters.  The  idea  originated  with  myself; 
and  I  mean  to  paint  it  on  my  own  account,  and  publish  a  print 
from  it  of  the  same  size  as  that  of  Chatham.'  This  was  a  vain 
imagination  —  the  king  approved  of  the  work;  the  nobility  of 
Ireland  promised  to  sit  for  their  portraits,  though  one  of  them, 
Lord  Inchiquin,  I  think,  declared  sitting  for  one's  portrait  to 
be  a  punishment  almost  unendurable;  but  somehow,  here  the 


138  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

matter  stopped,  and  the  first  installation  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Patrick  is  yet  to  be  painted. 

"It  ought  to  be  mentioned  that  Copley,  amid  all  his  his- 
torical works,  continued  to  paint  portraits,  and  had  in  that  way 
considerable  employment.  Among  others  he  took  the  likeness 
of  Lord  Mansfield;  and  has  left  us  a  very  fine  family  group 
of  himself,  his  wife,  and  his  children:  the  hands  are  well  pro- 
portioned; there  is  much  nature  in  the  looks  of  the  whole,  and 
some  very  fine  coloring. 

"A  portrait  painter  in  large  practice  might  write  a  pretty 
book  on  the  vanity  and  singularity  of  his  sitters.  A  certain 
man  came  to  Copley,  and  had  himself,  his  wife,  and  seven 
children,  all  included  in  a  family  piece.  'It  wants  but  one 
thing,'  said  he,  'and  that  is  the  portrait  of  my  first  wife  —  for 
this  one  is  my  second.'  —  'But,'  said  the  artist,  'she  is  dead, 
you  know,  sir:  what  can  I  do?  She  is  only  to  be  admitted  as  an 
angel.'  —  'Oh,  no!  not  at  all,'  answered  the  other;  'she  must 
come  in  as  a  woman  —  no  angels  for  me.'  The  portrait  was 
added,  but  some  time  elapsed  before  the  person  came  back: 
when  he  returned,  he  had  a  stranger  lady  on  his  arm.  'I  must 
have  another  cast  of  your  hand,  Copley,'  he  said:  'an  acci- 
dent befell  my  second  wife:  this  lady  is  my  third,  and  she  is 
come  to  have  her  likeness  included  in  the  family  picture.' 
The  painter  complied  —  the  likeness  was  introduced  —  and 
the  husband  looked  with  a  glance  of  satisfaction  on  his  three 
spouses:  not  so  the  lady;  she  remonstrated;  never  was  such  a 
thing  heard  of  —  out  her  predecessors  must  go.  The  artist 
painted  them  out  accordingly;  and  had  to  bring  an  action 
at  law  to  obtain  payment  for  the  portraits  which  he  had 
obliterated. 

"The  mind  of  Copley  teemed  with  large  pictures:  he  had 
hardly  failed  in  his  Irish  subject  before  he  resolved  to  try  an 
English  one,  viz.  the  Arrest  of  the  Five  Members  of  the  Com- 
mons by  Charles  the  First.  Malone,  an  indefatigable  friend, 
supplied  the  historical  information,  and  gave  a  list  of  the  chief 
men  whose  faces  ought  to  be  introduced.  It  was  the  good 
fortune  of  the  eminent  men  of  those  days,  both  cavaliers  and 


NO  SALE  FOR  HISTORICAL  PICTURES         139 

roundheads,  that  their  portraits  had  chiefly  been  taken  by  the 
inimitable  Van  Dyck:  all  that  had  to  be  done,  therefore,  was  to 
collect  these  heads,  and  paint  his  picture  from  them.  They 
were,  it  is  true,  scattered  east,  west,  north,  and  south:  but  no 
sooner  was  Copley's  undertaking  publicly  announced,  than 
pictures  came  from  all  quarters;  and  it  is  a  proof  of  his  name 
and  fame  that  such  treasures  were  placed  in  his  hands  with  the 
most  unlimited  confidence.  The  labor  which  this  picture 
required  must  have  been  immense;  besides  the  grouping,  the 
proper  distribution  of  parts,  and  the  passion  and  varied  feelings 
of  the  scene,  he  had  some  fifty-eight  likenesses  to  make  of  a 
size  corresponding  with  his  design.  The  point  of  time  chosen  is 
when  the  king  having  demanded  if  Hampden,  Pym,  Hollis, 
Hazelrig,  and  Strode  were  present,  Lenthall  the  speaker 
replies,  —  'I  have,  sir,  neither  eyes  to  see,  nor  tongue  to  speak, 
in  this  place,  but  as  the  House  is  pleased  to  direct  me.'  The 
scene  is  one  of  deep  interest,  and  the  artist  has  handled  it  with 
considerable  skill  and  knowledge.  The  head  I  like  best  is 
the  dark  and  enthusiastic  Sir  Harry  Vane:  the  Cromwell  is 
comparatively  a  failure.  Many  have  left  their  seats  dismayed; 
while  fear,  and  anger,  and  indignation  have  thrown  the  whole 
into  natural  groupings:  the  picture  was  much  talked  of  when 
it  appeared,  and  deserves  to  be  remembered  still. 

"There  has  always  been  a  difficulty  in  disposing  of  historical 
pictures  in  this  country;  and  no  one  was  doomed  to  experience 
it  more  than  Copley:  no  customer  made  his  appearance  for 
Charles  and  the  impeached  members.  I  know  not  whether  the 
following  remarkable  letter,  from  a  wealthy  peer,  arose  from 
his  own  inquiries,  or  from  an  offer  made  by  the  artist;  the 
letter,  however,  is  genuine,  and  proves  that  they  err,  who 
imagine  that  the  spirit  of  bargaining  is  confined  to  mercantile 
men:  — 

'  'Lord  Ferrers'  compliments  to  Mr.  Copley;  he  cannot 
form  any  judgment  of  the  picture;  but,  as  money  is  scarce, 
and  any  one  may  make  eight  per  cent  of  their  money  in  the 
funds,  and  particularly  in  navy  bills,  and  there  is  so  much  gam- 
ing, he  hopes  he'll  excuse  his  valuing  his  picture  in  conformity 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

to  the  times,  and  not  think  he  depreciates  in  the  least  from  Mr. 
Copley's  just  merit;  but  if  he  reckons  fifty-seven  figures,  there 
are  not  above  one-third  that  are  capital,  but  are  only  heads  or 
a  little  more;  and  therefore  he  thinks,  according  to  the  present 
times,  if  he  gets  nine  hundred  pounds  for  the  picture  with 
the  frame,  after  the  three  other  figures  are  put  in,  and  it  is  com- 
pletely finished,  and  he  has  the  power  of  taking  a  copy,  it  is 
pretty  near  the  value :  that  is  what  very  few  people  can  afford 
to  give  for  a  picture.  However,  if  Mr.  Copley  would  under- 
take to  do  a  family  piece  for  him  with  about  six  figures,  about 
the  size  of  the  picture  he  has  of  Mr.  Wright's,  with  frame  and 
all,  he  would  agree  to  give  him  a  thousand  guineas  for  the  two 
pictures.  But  he  imagines  the  emperor  or  some  of  the  royal 
family  may  give  him  more,  perhaps  a  great  deal  more,  which 
he  wishes  they  may,  and  thinks  he  well  deserves;  but  if  he  can't 
make  a  better  bargain,  Lord  Ferrers  will  stand  to  what  he 
says,  and  give  him  six  months  to  consider  of  it,  and  will  not 
take  it  amiss  if  he  sells  it  for  ever  so  little  more  than  he  has 
mentioned,  as  he  has  stretched  to  the  utmost  of  his  purse, 
though  he  does  not  think  he  has  come  near  up  to  Mr.  Copley's 
merit. 

" '  Upper  Seymour  Street,  5th  June.  1791.' 

"  Copley  felt  himself  so  much  obliged  to  Malone  for  historical 
help,  that  he  made  a  public  acknowledgment  of  it;  but  he 
seemed  not  to  be  aware  that  he  had  received  invisible  help 
before,  both  in  America  and  England.  The  person  who  had 
done  this  good  deed  was  Lord  Buchan;  and,  lest  the  painter 
should  go  to  the  grave  in  ignorance  of  the  name  of  his  bene- 
factor, he  addressed  this  characteristic  note  from  Dryburgh:  — 
'You  are  now  the  father  of  my  list  in  the  charming  art  of  per- 
petuating or  greatly  extending  the  impressions  received  by  the 
most  spiritual  of  our  external  senses  from  living  forms.  I  take 
pride  to  myself  in  having  been  the  first,  with  your  "Boy  and 
Squirrel,"  and  your  excellent  character  from  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  to  make  you  properly  known  to  the  illustrious 
Pitt,  to  whom  in  this  particular  department  there  has  been 


CHANGE,  AND  THE  END  COMES  141 

found  no  equal.'  This  northern  lord  lived,  and,  I  hear,  died, 
in  the  belief  that  he  was  the  great  support  of  literature  and 
patron  of  art.  But,  though  the  elder  brother  of  two  men  of 
wit  and  genius,  he  was,  in  fact,  in  every  possible  respect,  saving 
his  coronet,  a  nobody. 

"No  artist  was  ever  more  ready  than  Copley  to  lend  his 
pencil  to  celebrate  passing  events;  the  defeat  of  De  Winter  by 
Duncan  was  now  celebrated  in  a  picture,  exhibiting  consider- 
able skill  in  depicting  maritime  movements,  and  containing  in 
all  twelve  portraits.  He  is  not,  however,  so  happy  at  sea  as  on 
land ;  indeed,  a  naval  battle  is  conducted  on  such  mathematical 
principles,  that  no  human  ingenuity  seems  capable  of  in- 
fusing poetic  beauty  into  the  scene.  When  we  have  seen  the 
sides,  and  the  prow,  and  the  stern,  of  a  ship,  we  have  seen  all; 
their  tiers  of  guns,  their  masts,  then*  rigging,  and  their  mode 
of  fighting,  are  all  alike.  'The  Battle  of  La  Hogue'  is  the  best 
of  all  the  pieces  of  this  class;  yet  a  distinguished  officer  once 
called  it,  in  my  hearing,  a  splendid  confusion;  and  declared  if 
the  painter  had  commanded  the  fleet,  and  conducted  it  so,  he 
would  have  been  soundly  thrashed.  When  Nelson  fell  at 
Trafalgar,  West  dipped  his  brush  in  historic  paint.  Copley 
did  the  same;  the  former  finished  his  picture,  the  latter  but 
planned  his.  The  tide  of  taste  had  set  in  against  compositions 
of  that  extent  and  character:  more  youthful  adventurers 
were  making  their  appearance.  Lawrence,  Beechey,  and  Shee, 
with  their  splendid  portraitures  —  Stothard,  with  his  poetic  pic- 
tures —  and  Turner,  with  his  magical  landscape,  began  to  ap- 
pear in  the  van ;  and,  at  seventy  years  of  age,  nature  admonished 
Copley  to  cease  thinking  of  the  public,  and  prepare  for  a 
higher  tribunal.  He  had  still,  however,  energy  sufficient  to 
send  works  from  his  easel  to  the  exhibition;  among  which  were 
portraits  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton,  Baron  Graham,  Vis- 
count Dudley  and  Ward,  Lord  Sidmouth,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
at  a  review,  attended  by  Lord  Heathfield,  and  other  military 
worthies.  His  last  work  was  'The  Resurrection';  and  with 
this  his  labors  closed,  unless  we  except  a  portrait  of  his  son, 
Lord  Lyndhurst,  painted  in  1814.  An  American  gentleman 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

applied  to  him  for  information  and  materials  to  compose  a 
narrative  of  his  life;  he  felt  a  reluctance,  which  all  must  feel, 
about  complying  with  such  a  request;  and  while  he  was  hesi- 
tating, death  interposed.  He  died  9th  September,  1815,  aged 
seventy-eight  years. 

"Those  who  desire  to  know  the  modes  of  study,  the  peculiar 
habits,  the  feelings  and  opinions,  likings  and  dislikings,  of 
Copley,  cannot,  I  fear,  be  gratified.  No  one  lives  now  who 
could  tell  us  of  his  early  days,  when  the  boy,  on  the  wild  shores 
of  America,  achieved  works  of  surpassing  beauty;  he  is  but 
remembered  in  his  declining  years,  when  the  world  had  sobered 
down  his  mood,  and  the  ecstasy  of  the  blood  was  departed. 
He  has  been  represented  to  me  by  some  as  a  peevish  and 
peremptory  man,  while  others  describe  him  as  mild  and  unas- 
suming. Man  has  many  moods,  and  they  have  all,  I  doubt 
not,  spoken  the  truth  of  their  impressions.  I  can  depend  more 
upon  the  authority  which  says,  he  was  fond  of  books,  a  lover 
of  history,  and  well  acquainted  with  poetry,  especially  the 
divine  works  of  Milton.  These  he  preferred  to  exercise,  either 
on  foot  or  on  horseback,  when  labor  at  the  easel  was  over  — 
and  his  bookish  turn  has  been  talked  of  as  injurious  to  his 
health;  but  no  one  has  much  right  to  complain  of  shortness 
of  years,  who  lives  to  see  out  threescore  and  eighteen. 

"He  sometimes  made  experiments  in  colors;  the  methods  of 
the  Greeks,  the  elder  Italians,  and  the  schools  of  Florence  and 
Venice,  he  was  long  in  quest  of;  and  he  wrote  out  receipts 
for  composing  those  lustrous  hues  in  which  Titian  and  Cor- 
reggio  excelled.  For  the  worth  of  his  discoveries,  read  not 
his  receipts,  but  look  at  his  works;  of^all  that  he  ever  painted, 
nothing  surpasses  his  'Boy  and  Squirrel*  for  fine  depth  and 
beauty  of  color;  and  this  was  done,  I  presume,  before  he 
heard  the  name  of  Titian  pronounced.  His  'Samuel  reproving 
Saul  for  sparing  the  People  of  Amalek,'  is  likewise  a  fine  bit 
of  coloring,  with  good  feeling  and  good  drawing,  too.  I  have 
only  this  to  add  to  what  has  been  already  said  of  his  works; 
he  shares  with  West  the  reproach  of  want  of  natural  warmth  — 
and  uniting  much  stateliness  with  little  passion.  As  to  his 


SULLY  AND  STUART  ON  COPLEY       143 

personal  character,  it  seems  to  have  been  in  all  essential  re- 
spects, that  of  an  honorable  and  accomplished  gentleman. 

"Copley's  eminent  son  still  inhabits  the  artist's  house  in 
George  Street,  Hanover  Square;  and  all  must  consider  it  as 
honorable  to  this  noble  person,  that  he  has  made  it  his  object 
to  collect  works  of  his  father's  pencil  wherewith  to  adorn  the 
apartments  in  which  they  were  conceived  and  produced." 

We  have  given  our  opinion  of  the  merits  of  Mr.  Copley  as 
a  painter,  and  will  add  that  of  a  higher  authority.  In  a  note 
which  we  are  permitted  to  copy,  Mr.  Thomas  Sully  says,  — 
"Copley  was  in  all  respects  but  one  equal  to  West;  he  had 
not  so  great  dispatch:  but  then  he  was  more  correct,  and  did 
not  so  often  repeat  himself.  His  early  portraits,  which  I  saw 
at  Boston,  show  the  same  style,  only  less  finished,  that  he  kept 
to  the  last.  He  had  great  force  and  breadth.  He  was  crude 
in  coloring,  and  used  hard  terminations."  Highly  as  we  re- 
spect this  authority,  we  must  still  think  that  Copley,  as  an  his- 
torical painter,  was  inferior  to  West  in  very  many  points;  in 
portraits  he  was  his  superior.  It  appears  to  us  strange  that 
any  one  who  has  seen  the  appropriate  variation  of  style  from 
the  Scripture  subjects  for  Windsor,  to  the  Roman  pictures  — 
the  representations  of  English  history  from  Edward  III  to 
Cromwell  —  from  the  battles  of  the  Boyne,  La  Hogue,  and 
Quebec,  to  Telemachus,  Mentor,  and  Calypso  —  can  place  Mr. 
Copley  near  his  great  countryman. 

We  will  give  some  anecdotes  elucidating  Copley's  elaborate 
mode  of  working:  and  first,  from  Mr.  Sargent: 

"Stuart  used  to  tell  me,  that  no  man  ever  knew  how  to 
manage  paint  better  than  Copley.  I  suppose  he  meant  that 
firm,  artist-like  manner  in  which  it  was  applied  to  the  canvas; 
but  he  said  he  was  very  tedious  in  his  practice.  He  once 
visited  Copley  in  his  painting  room,  and  being  a  good  deal  of 
a  beau  !  !  "  (by  these  notes  of  admiration  we  suppose  Mr.  Sar- 
gent to  allude  to  Stuart's  slovenly,  snuffy  appearance  when 
he  knew  him),  "  Copley  asked  him  to  stand  for  him,  that  he 
might  paint  a  bit  of  a  ruffle-shirt  that  stuck  out  of  his  bosom. 
Not  thinking  that  it  would  take  more  than  a  few  minutes,  he 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

complied.  But  after  standing  a  long  time,  and  growing  un- 
easy, Copley  began  to  apologize.  'No  consequence  at  all/ 
said  Stuart,  '  I  beg  you  would  finish  —  do  all  you  can  do  to  it 
now,  for  this  is  the  last  time  you  ever  get  me  into  such  a 
scrape.' 

"Copley's  manner,"  continues  Mr.  Sargent,  "though  his 
pictures  have  great  merit,  was  very  mechanical.  He  painted 
a  very  beautiful  head  of  my  mother,  who  told  me  that  she  sat 
to  him  fifteen  or  sixteen  times!  Six  hours  at  a  time!  !  And  that 
once  she  had  been  sitting  to  him  for  many  hours,  when  he  left 
the  room  for  a  few  minutes,  but  requested  that  she  would  not 
move  from  her  seat  during  his  absence.  She  had  the  curiosity, 
however,  to  peep  at  the  picture,  and,  to  her  astonishment,  she 
found  it  all  rubbed  out." 

On  this  same  subject  we  quote  from  letters  in  answer  to  our 
inquiries,  addressed  to  that  very  distinguished  artist,  C.  R. 
Leslie,  Esq.,  R.  A. 

"Of  Copley  I  can  tell  you  very  little.  I  saw  him  once  in 
Mr.  West's  gallery,  but  he  died  very  soon  after  my  arrival 
in  London.  Mr.  West  told  me  he  was  the  most  tedious  of  all 
painters.  When  painting  a  portrait,  he  used  to  match  with  his 
palette  knife  a  tint  for  every  part  of  the  face,  whether  in  light, 
shadow,  or  reflection.  This  occupied  himself  and  the  sitter  a 
long  time  before  he  touched  the  canvas.  One  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  his  portrait  compositions  is  at  Windsor  Castle,  and 
represents  a  group  of  the  royal  children  playing  in  a  garden 
with  dogs  and  parrots.  It  was  painted  at  Windsor,  and  during 
the  operation,  the  children,  the  dogs,  and  the  parrots  became 
equally  wearied.  The  persons  who  were  obliged  to  attend 
them  while  sitting  complained  to  the  queen;  the  queen  com- 
plained to  the  king  and  the  king  complained  to  Mr.  West, 
who  had  obtained  the  commission  for  Copley.  Mr.  West  satis- 
fied his  majesty  that  Copley  must  be  allowed  to  proceed  in  his 
own  way,  and  that  any  attempt  to  hurry  him  might  be  injurious 
to  the  picture,  which  would  be  a  very  fine  one  when  done." 
^ The  prediction  of  West  was  fully  accomplished;  and  this 
graceful,  splendid,  and  beautiful  composition  was  seen  by  the 


LESLIE'S  INTERESTING  CRITICISMS  145 

writer  at  Somerset  House,  in  the  year  1786  or  7,  and  is  remem- 
bered with  pleasure  to  this  day. 

On  the  subject  of  Copley,  we  must  give  our  readers  some 
further  valuable  and  entertaining  matter  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Leslie.  He  says: 

"As  you  ask  my  opinion  of  Copley,  you  shall  have  it,  such 
as  it  is.  His  merits  and  defects  resemble  those  of  West.  I 
know  not  that  he  was  ever  a  regular  pupil  of  the  president,  but 
he  was  certainly  of  his  school.  Correct  in  drawing,  with  a 
fine  manner  of  composition,  and  a  true  eye  for  light  and  shadow, 
he  was  defective  in  coloring.  With  him  it  wants  brilliancy  and 
transparency.  His  'Death  of  Major  Pierson,'  I  think  his  finest 
historical  work  —  you  have  perhaps  seen  it  —  at  any  rate  you 
know  the  fine  engraving  of  it,  by  James  Heath.  Copley's 
largest  picture  is  in  Guildhall;  the  destruction  of  the  floating 
batteries  off  Gibraltar,  by  General  Elliot.  The  foreground 
figures  are  as  large  as  life,  but  those  in  the  middle  distance, 
are  either  too  small  or  deficient  in  aerial  perspective.  Instead 
of  looking  like  men  diminished  by  distance,  they  look  less 
than  life.  With  the  exception  of  this  defect  the  picture  is  a 
fine  one.  His  'Death  of  Lord  Chatham'  is  now  in  the  National 
Gallery.  It  is  the  best  colored  picture  I  have  seen  by  him,  but 
it  has  a  defect  frequent  in  large  compositions  made  up  of  a 
number  of  portraits.  There  are  too  many  figures  to  let.  Too 
many  unoccupied,  and  merely  introduced  to  show  the  faces. 
His  picture  of  Brooke  Watson  and  the  shark,  is  in  the  large 
hall  of  the  Blue  Coat  School.  It  is  a  good  picture,  but  dry  and 
bad  in  color.  He  painted,  I  believe,  a  great  many  portraits,  but 
I  have  seen  none  of  any  consequence  excepting  the  group  of 
the  King's  Children  I  described  to  you  in  my  last.  It  is  a 
beautiful  picture.  I  have  heard  Allston  say,  he  has  seen  very 
fine  portraits,  painted  by  Copley  before  he  left  America.  I 
would  advise  you  to  write  to  Allston  about  it."  In  another  of 
Mr.  Leslie's  valuable  letters  we  have  the  following:  —  "I 
know  not  if  Allan  Cunningham  in  his  life  of  Copley,  has  told 
the  following  story  of  his  tediousness  as  a  painter.  It  is  said,  a 
gentleman  employed  him  to  paint  his  family  in  one  large  picture, 


146  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

but  during  its  progress,  the  gentleman's  wife  died,  and  he 
married  again.  Copley  was  now  obliged  to  obliterate  all  that 
was  painted  of  the  first  wife,  and  place  her  in  the  clouds  in  the 
character  of  an  angel,  while  her  successor  occupied  her  place  on 
earth.  But  lo!  she  died  also,  and  the  picture  proceeded  so 
slowly  as  to  allow  the  husband  time  enough  to  console  himself 
with  a  third  wife.  When  the  picture  was  completed,  therefore, 
the  gentleman  had  two  wives  in  heaven,  and  one  on  earth,  with 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  children.  The  price,  which  was  pro- 
portioned to  the  labor  bestowed  on  the  picture,  was  disputed 
by  the  employer,  who  alleged  that  the  picture  ought  to  have 
been  completed  before  his  domestic  changes  had  rendered  the 
alterations  and  additions  necessary.  Copley  went  to  law  with 
him;  and  his  son  (now  Lord  Lyndhurst),  who  was  just  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  gained  his  father's  cause.  The  story  was 
told  me  by  a  gentleman,  who  was  old  enough  to  remember 
Copley,  but  he  did  not  give  me  his  authority  for  it,  and  I  fear 
it  is  too  good  to  be  true.  I  remember  one  or  two  of  Copley's 
last  pictures  in  the  exhibition,  but  they  were  very  poor;  he 
had  outlived  his  powers  as  an  artist." 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Copley's  death  was  accelerated  by 
two  concurrent  circumstances,  both  affecting  his  purse.  The 
one  was  the  dilatoriness  of  Bartolozzi  in  finishing  the  print  of 
the  Death  of  Chatham,  by  which  he  lost  many  subscribers, 
and  experienced  a  diminished  sale.  The  other  is  thus  related. 
Some  American  speculator  who  was  acquainted  with  the  superb 
situation  of  Copley's  house  in  Boston  (overlooking  the  beauti- 
ful green  and  parade  ground  called  the  Common,  with  the 
Mall,  and  its  venerable  trees),  and  who  knew  the  rapid  increase 
in  value,  which  such  property  had  experienced,  and  was  daily 
experiencing,  made  an  offer  to  the  painter  for  the  purchase, 
which,  compared  to  the  value  of  property  in  the  town  of  Bos- 
ton in  former  days,  seemed  enormous.  Copley  eagerly  closed 
with  him,  and  sold  the  property  for  a  song,  compared  to  its 
real  value.  Shortly  after  the  irrevocable  deed  was  done,  he 
heard  that  it  was  worth  ten  —  perhaps  twenty  times  the  money 
he  had  received  —  in  short,  that  he  had  lost  a  fortune.  He, 


ENGRAVER  VERSUS  PAINTER  147 

it  is  said,  tried  to  undo  the  bargain,  and  even  sent  his  lawyer 
son  to  Boston  for  the  purpose,  but  his  travelling  countryman 
had  left  no  loophole  for  the  future  peer  of  the  realm  of  Great 
Britain  to  peer  into.  All  was  irrevocably  fast,  and  these  losses 
are  said  to  have  shortened  his  days.  All  this  may  be  mere 
gossip.  It  is  more  than  gossip,  that  John  Singleton  Copley 
was  a  great  painter,  and  a  good  man.  It  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  he  experienced  disappointment  and  loss  from  another 
engraving  of  his  "Chatham." 

This  was  by  the  decision  of  a  stupid  jury  against  him,  July 
2,  1801.  The  circumstances  are  thus  well  told:  — 

"Law  Intelligence.  Delatre  v.  Copley.  This  cause  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  'Court  of  King's  Bench,'  the  whole  day, 
and  excited  a  considerable  degree  of  interest.  The  question 
was  concerning  the  execution  of  an  engraving  from  the  cele- 
brated picture  of  the  death  of  Lord  Chatham.  This  was 
originally  painted  by  the  defendant.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished 
he  put  it  in  the  hands  of  Bartolozzi,  who  undertook  to  engrave 
it  for  2000  guineas.  This  print  was  admirably  done,  but  the 
price  being  high,  he  wished  to  publish  another  which  he  could 
afford  to  sell  at  a  more  moderate  rate.  He  therefore  con- 
tracted with  the  plaintiff,  for  an  engraving  about  half  the  size, 
for  which  he  was  to  give  him  about  £800.  After  working  on 
the  plate  three  years,  Mr.  Delatre  thought  he  had  brought  it 
to  perfection,  and  sent  a  proof  to  Mr.  Copley.  The  latter, 
however,  was  dissatisfied  with  the  performance,  and  refused  to 
pay  the  stipulated  sum;  when  the  action  was  brought  to  recover 
£650,  as  the  balance  due  the  plaintiff,  he  having  received 
£150,  during  the  course  of  the  work. 

"The  first  witness  called  was  M.  Bartolozzi,  who  spoke  very 
much  in  favor  of  the  engraving.  Copies  of  it  were  produced, 
as  well  as  of  Bartolozzi's.  Mr.  Erskine  in  cross-examining  the 
witness,  desired  him  to  compare  minutely  the  two  prints 
together.  'Do  you  see,  sir,'  said  he,  'in  your  own,  the  youngest 
son  of  Lord  Chatham,  in  a  naval  uniform,  bending  forward 
with  a  tear  in  his  eye,  and  a  countenance  displaying  the  agony 
of  an  affectionate  son,  on  beholding  a  dying  father;  and  do 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

you  not  see  in  the  other,  an  assassin,  with  a  scar  upon  his  cheek, 
exulting  over  the  body  of  an  old  man  whom  he  has  murdered? 
In  the  one  you  observe  the  late  minister,  a  thin,  fair  com- 
plexioned,  genteel-looking  young  man;  in  the  other,  a  fat, 
round-faced,  grim-visaged  negro.  In  the  one,  the  Archbishop 
of  York  appears  in  his  true  colors,  as  a  dignified  and  venerable 
prelate;  in  the  other,  his  place  is  usurped  by  the  drunken 
parson  in  Hogarth's  "Harlot's  Progress".  In  the  one,  the  Earl 
of  Chatham  is  supported  by  his  son-in-law,  Lord  Stanhope, 
a  figure  tall,  slender  and  elegant;  and  does  not  the  other  offer 
to  view  a  short,  sturdy  porter  of  a  bagnio,  lugging  home  an 
old  letcher,  who  had  got  mortal  drunk?'  M.  Bartolozzi  allowed 
that  some  of  the  portraits  were  not  exactly  alike,  but  main- 
tained that  the  piece  was  well  executed  upon  the  whole.  Mr. 
Pitt's  looks,  he  said,  had  altered  much  of  late  years,  and  this 
accounted  for  the  dissimilarity  of  his  appearance  in  the  two 
prints.  This  remark  caused  a  loud  and  general  laugh. 

"M.  Bartolozzi  was  followed  by  an  immense  number  of 
other  engravers,  who  all  coincided  in  opinion  with  him. 

"After  a  very  elegant  speech  for  the  defendant,  from  Mr. 
Erskine,  as  many  eminent  painters  were  called,  whose  opinion 
was  diametrically  opposite.  Among  these  were  Sir  William 
Beechey,  Mr.  Opie,  Mr.  Cosway,  Mr.  President  West,  and  Mr. 
Hopner;  they,  together  with  several  engravers,  unanimously 
pronounced  the  engraving  extremely  ill  executed,  and  declared 
that  the  defendant  could  not  publish  it  without  materially 
injuring  his  reputation. 

"Lord  Kenyon  professed  total  ignorance  upon  this  subject; 
the  knowledge  of  the  fine  arts,  he  said,  doubtless  added  to  the 
value  of  human  life;  but  this  source  of  enjoyment  had  unfor- 
tunately never  been  open  to  him.  He  found  himself  in  a  wilder- 
ness, and  at  a  loss  what  path  to  take  to  arrive  at  justice;  he 
found  fourteen  persons  who  advised  him  to  go  one  way,  and 
other  fourteen  who  insisted  upon  his  going  another.  He  would 
not  even  talk  upon  this  subject,  lest  he  should  appear  a  fool 
and  a  babbler,  like  the  man  who  discoursed  upon  the  art  of 
war  before  Hannibal.  In  the  course  of  his  charge,  however,  the 


TWO  OBSCURE  ARTISTS  149 

noble  lord  laid  great  stress  upon  the  evidence  of  Mr.  West, 
and  though  he  gave  no  direction  to  the  jury,  seemed  inclined 
to  think  that  the  defendant  was  entitled  to  a  verdict.  The  jury 
nevertheless  after  withdrawing  for  about  ten  minutes,  found  a 
verdict  for  the  plaintiff.  Damages  £650." 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  judge  showed  his  conviction 
that  West  ought  to  be  decorated  with  a  title,  and  called  upon 
him  as  Sir  Benjamin,  and  the  audience  paid  him  such  peculiar 
respect  in  making  way  for  him.  See  Hazlitt's  conversations 
of  Northcote  as  quoted  in  the  biography  of  Mr.  West,  in  this 
work. 

TAYLOR. 

A  gentleman  of  this  name  painted  miniatures  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  year  1760.  A  copy  of  a  miniature  of  Oliver  Cromwell 
is  in  the  museum  of  that  city,  as  I  am  informed.  At  the  same 
time  a  painter  of  the  name  of 

CAIN 

Exercised  his  profession  in  Maryland. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HESSELIUS  -  -  FRAZIER  —  MRS.  WRIGHT  —  PEALE  -  -  WIN- 
STANLEY  —  BENBRIDGE  —  ALEXANDER  —  WOOLASTON  - 
MANLY  —  SMITH  —  DURAND. 

HESSELIUS.1 

AN  English  painter  of  this  name,  married  and  settled  in 
Annapolis  in  1763.  Our  highly  esteemed  correspondent,  Robert 
Gilmor,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  an  enlightened  patron  of  art,  and 
friend  to  artists,  speaks  of  him  thus:  — 

"Hesselius,  by  whom  the  greater  part  of  the  family  por- 
traits in  the  old  mansions  of  Maryland  were  painted,  and  that 
in  a  respectable  manner."  He  was  an  early  instructor  of  Charles 
Willson  Peale,  whose  son  Rembrandt  in  the  memoir  of  his 
father,  published  in  the  "Encyclopedia  Americana,"  calls  him 
"a  portrait  painter,  from  the  school  of  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller." 
About  this  same  period  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 

FRAZIER 

Was  painting  at  Norfolk  in  Virginia. 

\ 
PATIENCE  WRIGHT. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  notice  as  artists  every  modeler  in 
clay  or  wax,  or  carver  hi  wood  or  even  stone,  that  may  have 
attempted  the  likeness  of  the  human  face  or  form;  but  the 
earlier  aspirants  we  think  entitled  to  a  page  in  the  history  of 
American  art.  We  have  endeavored  to  rescue  from  oblivion 

1  Gustavus  Hesselius,  a  Swedish  artist,  who  landed  at  Christina,  now  Wilmington, 
Del.,  in  May,  1711,  and  a  few  weeks  later  went  to  Philadelphia.  To  Hesselius  was  given 
the  first  public  art  commission  known  to  have  been  executed  in  this  country;  for  on 
September  5,  1721,  he  received  an  order  "to  draw  ye  history  of  our  Blessed  Saviour 
and  ye  Twelve  Apostles  at  ye  last  Supper"  for  the  altar  of  St.  Barnabas'  Church,  in 
Queen  Anne  Parish,  Md.  The  altarpiece  was  completed  and  its  price,  £17,  was 
paid  November  26,  1722.  The  church  was  destroyed  in  1773  and  until  recently  all 
trace  of  the  picture  was  lost.  Through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart  of  New 
York  the  picture  has  been  found  recently  and  was  exhibited  at  the  Brooklyn  Museum 
in  1917. 

150 


GUSTAVUS  HESSELIUS 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


A  FEMALE  ARTIST  IN  WAX  151 

the  name  of  Patience  Wright  a  lady  of  uncommon  talent. 
Mrs.  Wright  must  have  made  her  earliest  attempts  before  she 
had  seen  any  works  of  art,  in  modeling  or  otherwise.  From 
childhood  the  dough  intended  for  the  oven,  or  the  clay  found 
near  the  house  assumed  in  her  hands  somewhat  of  the  sem- 
blance of  man;  and  soon,  the  likeness  of  the  individuals  she 
associated  with. 

This  extraordinary  woman  was  born,  like  West,  among 
people  who  eschewed  images  or  pictures.  Her  parents  were 
Quakers,  residing  at  Bordentown,  New  Jersey;  —  1725  was  the 
year  of  her  birth;  —  March  20th,  1748,  the  date  of  her  marriage 
with  Joseph  Wright,  of  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  who  died 
in  1769.  Her  maiden  name  was  Lovell.  Before  the  year 
1772,  she  had  made  herself  famous  for  likenesses  in  wax,  in 
the  cities  of  her  native  country,  and  when  a  widow  with  three 
children,  was  enabled  to  seek  more  extensive  fame,  and  more 
splendid  fortune  in  the  metropolis  of  Great  Britain.  There  is 
ample  testimony  in  the  English  periodicals  of  the  time,  that 
her  work  was  considered  of  an  extraordinary  kind;  and  her 
talent  for  observation  and  conversation  —  for  gaining  knowl- 
edge and  eliciting  information,  and  for  communicating  her 
stores,  whether  original  or  acquired,  gained  her  the  attention 
and  friendship  of  many  distinguished  men  of  the  day.  As  she 
retained  an  ardent  love  for  her  country,  and  entered  into 
the  feelings  of  her  injured  countrymen  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  she  used  the  information  she  obtained  by  giving 
warning  of  the  intentions  of  their  enemies,  and  especially 
corresponding  with  Benjamin  Franklin,  when  he  resided  in 
Paris,  having  become  intimate  with  him  in  London. 

In  the  sixth  volume  of  Franklin's  letters,  published  by  Wil- 
liam T.  Franklin,  in  London,  and  republished  by  William 
Duane,  in  Philadelphia,  is  the  following:  — 

"  To  Mrs.  Wright,  London. 

"Passy,  May  4,  1779. 

"DEAR  MADAM:  —  I  received  your  favor  of  the  14th  of 
March  past,  and  if  you  should  continue  in  your  resolution  of 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

returning  to  America,  through  France,  I  shall  certainly  render 
you  any  of  the  little  services  in  my  power:  but  there  are  so 
many  difficulties  at  present  in  getting  passages  hence,  particu- 
larly safe  ones  for  women,  that  methinks  I  should  advise  your 
stay  till  more  settled  times,  and,  till  a  more  frequent  intercourse 
is  established. 

"As  to  the  exercise  of  your  art  here,  I  am  in  doubt  whether 
it  would  answer  your  expectations.  Here  are  two  or  three 
who  profess  it,  and  make  a  show  of  their  works  on  the  Boule- 
vards; but  it  is  not  the  taste  for  persons  of  fashion  to  sit  to 
these  artists  for  their  portraits :  and  both  house-rent  and  living 
at  Paris  are  very  expensive. 

"I  thought  that  friendship  required  I  should  acquaint  you 
with  these  circumstances;  after  which  you  will  use  your  dis- 
cretion. 

"I  am,  etc., 

"B.  FRANKLIN." 

(Written  in  the  envelope  of  the  above.) 

"P.  S.  My  grandson,  whom  you  may  remember  when  a  little 
saucy  boy  at  school,  being  my  amanuensis  in  writing  the  within 
letter,  has  been  diverting  me  with  his  remarks.  He  conceives 
that  your  figures  cannot  be  packed  up,  without  damage  from 
anything  you  could  fill  the  boxes  with  to  keep  them  steady. 
He  supposes,  therefore,  that  you  must  put  them  into  post- 
chaises,  two  and  two,  which  will  make  a  long  train  upon  the 
road,  and  be  a  very  expensive  conveyance;  but  as  they  will 
eat  nothing  at  the  inns,  you  may  the  better  afford  it.  When 
they  come  to  Dover,  he  is  sure  they  are  so  like  life  and  nature, 
that  the  master  of  the  packet  will  not  receive  them  on  board 
without  passes;  which  you  will  do  well  therefore  to  take  out 
from  the  secretary's  office,  before  you  leave  London;  where 
they  will  cost  you  only  the  modest  price  of  two  guineas  and 
sixpence  each,  which  you  will  pay  without  grumbling,  because 
you  are  sure  the  money  will  never  be  employed  against  your 
country.  It  will  require,  he  says,  five  or  six  of  the  long  wicker 
French  stage  coaches  to  carry  them  as  passengers  from  Calais 


MRS.  GUSTAVUS  HESSELIUS 
BY  GUSTAVUS  HESSELIUS 

From  the  collection  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


AN  EXTRAORDINARY  WOMAN  153 

to  Paris,  and  a  ship  with  good  accommodations  to  convey  them 
to  America;  where  all  the  world  will  wonder  at  your  clemency 

to  Lord  N ;  that  having  it  in  your  power  to  hang,  or 

send  him  to  the  lighters,  you  had  generously  reprieved  him 
for  transportation." 

The  Editor  in  the  following  note  has  called  this  lady,  Mrs. 
Mehetabel  Wright.  I  write  with  her  letters  to  her  children 
before  me,  signed  "Patience  Wright."  She  is  further  said  to 
be  the  niece  of  John  Wesley,  and  born  in  Philadelphia,  where 
her  parents  had  settled,  all  which  is  as  false  as  a  great  deal 
of  biography  I  meet  with.  She  has  likewise  been  called 
Sybilla,  for  which  there  was  some  foundation,  as  she  professed 
sometimes  to  foretell  political  events,  and  was  called  the 
Sybill.1 

I  have  before  me  an  engraving  published  in  1775,  represent- 
ing Mrs.  Wright  at  full  length  in  the  act  of  modeling  a  bust 
of  a  gentleman.  In  the  "  London  Magazine  "  of  that  year,  she 
is  styled  the  Promethean  modeler.  In  that  work  it  is  said, 
"In  her  very  infancy  she  discovered  a  striking  genius,  and 
began  with  making  faces  with  new  bread  and  putty,  to  such 
excellence  that  she  was  advised  to  try  her  skill  in  wax."  Her 
likenesses  of  the  King,  Queen,  Lords  Chatham  and  Temple, 
Messrs.  Barre,  Wilkes  and  others,  attracted  universal  admira- 
tion. The  above  writer  says,  "Her  natural  abilities  are  sur- 
passing, and  had  a  liberal  and  extensive  education  been  added 
to  her  innate  qualities,  she  had  been  a  prodigy.  She  has  an 

1 "  Mrs.  Mehetabel  Wright  was  altogether  a  very  extraordinary  woman.  She  was 
the  niece  of  the  celebrated  John  Wesley,  but  was  born  at  Philadelphia,  in  which  city 
her  parents  settled  at  an  early  period.  Mrs.  Wright  was  greatly  distinguished  as  a 
modeler  in  wax;  which  art  she  turned  to  a  remarkable  account  in  the  American  war 
by  coming  to  England,  and  exhibiting  her  performances.  This  enabled  her  to  procure 
much  intelligence  of  importance,  which  she  communicated  to  Dr.  Franklin  and  others, 
with  whom  she  corresponded  during  the  whole  war.  As  soon  as  a  general  was  appointed, 
or  a  squadron  begun  to  be  fitted  out,  the  old  lady  found  means  of  access  to  some  family 
where  she  could  gain  information,  and  thus  without  being  at  all  suspected,  she  contrived 
to  transmit  an  account  of  the  number  of  the  troops,  and  the  place  of  their  destination 
to  her  political  friends  abroad.  She  at  one  time  had  frequent  access  to  Buckingham 
House;  and  used,  it  is  said  to  speak  her  sentiments  very  freely  to  their  majesties,  who 
were  amused  with  her  originality.  The  great  Lord  Chatham  honored  her  with  his 
visits,  and  she  took  his  likeness  which  appears  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Mrs.  Wright 
died  very  old  in  March,  1786. 


154  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF   DESIGN 

eye  of  that  quick  and  brilliant  water,  that  it  penetrates  and 
darts  through  the  person  it  looks  on;  and  practice  has  made 
her  capable  of  distinguishing  the  character  and  dispositions  of 
her  visitors,  that  she  is  very  rarely  mistaken,  even  in  the  minute 
point  of  manners;  much  more  so  in  the  general  cast  of 
character." 

Nine  years  after  the  above  was  written,  I  was  introduced 
to  Mrs.  Wright,  but  too  young  ajid  careless  to  observe  her 
character  minutely.  The  expression  of  her  eye  is  remembered, 
and  an  energetic  wildness  in  her  manner.  While  conversing 
she  was  busily  employed  modeling,  both  hands  being  under 
her  apron.  She  had  three  children;  two  daughters  and  a  son. 
The  son  will  occupy  another  page  of  this  work.  The  elder 
daughter  married  an  American  of  the  name  of  Platt,  and  in- 
heriting some  of  her  mother's  works  and  talent,  returned  to  this 
country  and  died  here.  Mrs.  Platt  made  herself  well  known 
in  New  York,  about  the  year  1787,  by  her  modeling  in  wax. 
The  younger  daughter  married  Hopner,  the  rival  of  Stuart  and 
Lawrence  as  a  portrait  painter. 

The  only  work  that  I  distinctly  remember  of  Mrs.  Wright's 
is  a  full  length  of  the  great  Lord  Chatham,  as  it  stood  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  in  1784,  enclosed  in  a  glass  case. 

Anecdotes  are  related  of  the  eccentricities  of  Mrs.  Wright. 
Her  manners  were  not  those  of  a  courtier.  She  once  had  the 
ear  and  favor  of  George  the  Third,  but  lost  it  by  scolding 
him  for  sanctioning  the  American  war.  She  was  intimate  with 
Mr.  West  and  his  family;  and  the  beautiful  form  and  face  of 
her  younger  daughter  is  frequently  to  be  found  in  his  historical 
compositions:  the  English  consul  at  Venice,  mentioned  by 
Moore  in  his  life  of  Byron,  is  son  to  this  lady,  and  of  course 
grandson  to  Mrs.  Wright. 

In  1781,  Mrs.  Wright  went  to  Paris.  The  son,  Joseph 
Wright,  followed  in  1782,  and  remained  in  France  during  part 
of  the  year;  and  I  have  before  me  several  of  Mrs.  Wright's 
letters  to  him,  replete  with  affection  and  good  sense,  written 
after  her  return  to  London;  and  likewise  letters  to  him  in 
1783,  written  to  meet  him  in  America. 


PATIENCE  WRIGHT 
1725—1786 

From  a  line  engraving  in  the  "London  Magazine,"  1775 


JOSEPH  WRIGHT'S  "WASHINGTON"  155 

In  1785,  Mrs.  Wright  sent  the  following  characteristic  letter 
to  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  in  Paris. 

"London,  at  the  waxwork,  Aug.  14,  1785. 

"Honored  sir:  —  I  had  the  pleasure  to  hear  that  my  son 
Joseph  Wright  had  painted  the  best  likeness  of  our  HERO 
Washington,  of  any  painter  in  America;  and  my  friends  are 
anxious  that  I  should  make  a  likeness,  a  bust  in  wax,  to  be 
placed  in  the  statehouse,  or  some  new  public  building  that 
may  be  erected  by  Congress.  The  flattering  letters  from  gentle- 
men of  distinguished  virtues  and  rank,  and  one  from  that 
general  himself,  wherein  he  says,  'He  shall  think  himself  happy 
to  have  his  bust  done  by  Mrs.  Wright,  whose  uncommon 
talents,  etc.,  etc.'  make  me  happy  in  the  prospect  of  seeing  him 
in  my  own  country. 

"I  most  sincerely  wish  not  only  to  make  the  likeness  of 
Washington,  but  of  those  five  gentlemen,  who  assisted  at  the 
signing  the  treaty  of  peace,  that  put  an  end  to  so  bloody  and 
dreadful  a  war.  The  more  public  the  honors  bestowed  on  such 
men  by  their  country,  the  better.  To  shame  the  English 
king,  I  would  go  to  any  trouble  and  expense  to  add  my  mite 
in  the  stock  of  honor  due  to  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  others,  to 
send  to  America;  and  I  will,  if  it  is  thought  proper  to  pay  my 
expense  of  travelling  to  Paris,  come  myself  and  model  the  like- 
ness of  Mr.  Jefferson;  and  at  the  same  time  see  the  picture, 
and  if  possible  by  this  painting,  which  is  said  to  be  so  like  him, 
make  a  likeness  of  the  General.  I  wish  likewise  to  consult 
with  you,  how  best  we  may  honor  our  country,  by  holding 
up  the  likenesses  of  her  eminent  men,  either  in  painting  or 
waxwork.  A  statue  in  marble  is  already  ordered,  and  an 
artist  gone  to  Philadelphia  to  begin  the  work.  Houdon. 
This  is  as  I  wished  and  hoped." 

The  letter  concludes  by  hinting  the  danger  of  sending 
Washington's  picture  to  London,  from  the  enmity  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  the  espionage  of  the  police;  which  she  says  has 
all  the  "folly,  without  the  abilities  of  the  French."  She  sub- 


156  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

scribes  herself  "Patience  Wright."  In  the  same  year,  this 
extraordinary  woman  died.1 

CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 

Succeeds  in  chronological  order.  His  son  Rembrandt  has 
published  two  memoirs  of  him,  which  I  shall  use.  Charles 
Willson  Peale  was  born  at  Chesterton,2  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Maryland,  April  16,  1741,  consequently  he  was  three  years 
younger  than  West  and  Copley,  who  were  born  in  1738.  He 
was  bound  apprentice  to  a  saddler  in  Annapolis,  then  the 
metropolis  of  Maryland.  He  married  before  he  was  twenty-one 
and  after  the  term  of  apprenticeship,  pursued  his  trade,  and 
as  appears  several  others,  for  he  attempted  coach  making,  and 
soon  added  clock  and  watchmaking,  besides  working  as  a 
silversmith,  and  beginning  to  try  his  hand  as  a  painter.  Going 
to  Norfolk  to  buy  leather,  he  saw  the  paintings  of  Mr.  Frazier, 
above  mentioned,  and  he  thought  he  could  do  as  well  if  he 
tried.  Accordingly  on  returning  home,  he  did  try,  by  painting  a 
portrait  of  himself,  which  drew  him  into  notice,  and  determined 
him  henceforward  to  make  faces  instead  of  saddles.  This 
work,  the  portrait  of  himself  was  long  lost  to  the  world,  but 
forty  years  after  it  had  "procured  him  employment"  as  a 
painter,  it  was  found  "tied  up  as  a  bag,  and  containing  a  pound 
or  two  of  whiting." 

Peale  visited  Philadelphia;  and  brought  home  materials 
for  portrait  painting,  and  a  book  to  instruct  him,  "the  hand- 
maid of  the  arts."  He  found  another  instructor  on  his  return 
to  Annapolis,  in  Mr.  Hesselius,  an  English  artist,  who  like 
others  had  made  a  circuit  of  the  provinces,  but  had  been  ar- 

1  Mrs.  Wright  made  a  portrait  in  wax  of  Franklin  between  1772  and  1775.  Dunlap 
is  in  error  in  giving  the  year  of  her  death  as  1785.  She  died  in  London  March  23, 
1786. 

1  This  is  a  mistake.  The  fact  is  that  Peale  was  born  while  his  father  (who  had 
been  educated  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge)  was  master  of  the  first  free  school  in 
Queen  Anne's  County,  Md.,  and  this  school  is  said  to  have  been  situated  in  that 
county  between  CentrevUle  and  Queenstown.  In  the  original  entry  of  the  birth  of 
Charles  WilLson  Peale  in  St.  Pad's  Church,  Queen  Anne's  County,  it  is  recorded  that 
Charles  Peale  is  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Charles  Peale,  Rector,  of  Edith  Weston  in  the 
County  of  Rutland,  England.  The  elder  Peale  removed  to  Chestertown  in  1742  when 
the  son  was  a  year  old. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
By  PATIENCE  WRIGHT 


PEALE  VISITS  NEW  ENGLAND  157 

rested  by  the  charms  of  a  young  lady,  became  a  married  man, 
and  settled  at  Annapolis.  Mr.  Peale  having  an  opportunity  to 
make  a  voyage,  passage  free,  to  Boston,  in  a  schooner  belong- 
ing to  his  brother-in-law,  visited  that  famous  town,  then  the 
most  conspicuous  place  in  America,  and  he  there  found  Cop- 
ley established  as  a  portrait  painter.  Mr.  Copley  received  the 
aspiring  saddler  kindly,  and  lent  him  a  picture  to  copy.  "The 
sight  of  Mr.  Copley's  picture  room,"  says  his  son  Rembrandt, 
in  the  "Cabinet  of  Natural  History,"  published  1830  by 
Doughty,  Philadelphia,  "afforded  him  great  enjoyment  and  in- 
struction." From  this  we  infer,  that  although  called  by  his 
son  "a  pupil  of  Hesselius,"  Peale  had  no  permanent  connec- 
tion with  that  gentleman. 

The  voyage  to  Boston  took  place  in  1768-9,1  and  on  Mr. 
Peale's  returning  to  Annapolis,  he  decided  upon  a  voyage  to 
England  as  soon  as  practicable.  His  wishes  were  seconded 
by  several  gentlemen  of  that  city,  and  a  subscription  made  to 
forward  his  enterprise,  he  engaging  to  repay  the  loan  with  pic- 
tures on  his  return.  Accordingly  he  proceeded  to  London 
bearing  letters  to  Mr.  West,  and  arrived  in  the  year  1770. 
West  received  his  ingenious  and  enterprising  countryman 
frankly,  and  imparted  instructions  for  his  conduct  and  study. 
The  scanty  funds  of  Peale  being  soon  exhausted,  the  benevolent 
West  received  him  into  his  house,  that  he  might  not  lose  the 
opportunity  of  improvement  anticipated  from  his  voyage. 

Peale  remained  in   London  from  1770  to  1774.2    "At  this 

1  Peale's  visit  to  Boston  was  in  1765.  There  seem  to  have  been  other  reasons  for 
this  voyage  besides  the  opportunity  to  see  Copley  and  his  works,  as  his  visit  to  New 
England  centered  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  where  he  painted  several  portraits. 

1  Dunlap  is  in  error  in  regard  to  Peale's  residence  in  London,  where  he  studied  under 
West  at  the  time  the  Royal  Academy  was  founded.  He  sailed  from  Maryland  in 
December,  1766,  and  arrived  in  England  in  February,  1767,  remaining  there  two  years 
and  leaving  in  March  of  1769.  While  studying  under  West  he  painted  a  number  of 
portraits  for  his  patrons  and  to  assist  in  his  support ;  these  portraits  including  the  full 
length  of  Lord  Chatham  presented  by  Edmund  Jennings  of  London  to  "  the  Gentle- 
men of  Westmoreland  County,"  Virginia.  It  was  from  this  portrait  that  Peale  made 
a  mezzotint  engraving  and  after  his  return  to  Maryland  he  presented  a  duplicate  of  the 
painting  to  his  native  State  in  1774. 

Dunlap  states  that  Peale  returned  from  England  in  1774,  which  is  erroneous  and 
would  eliminate  four  years  of  great  activity  as  a  painter,  during  which  time  he  made 
many  important  portraits  including  the  first  known  likeness  of  Washington,  which  was 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

time,"  says  his  biographer,  "Stuart  and  Trumbull  were  like- 
wise students  with  Mr.  West."  Not  so.  Stuart  went  to  Lon- 
don in  1775,  and  remained  in  that  city  unknown  to  West  until 
1778,  and  Trumbull  did  not  reach  London  until  after  he  had 
studied  painting  in  Boston,  during  parts  of  the  years  1777-78 
and  79.  He  sailed  for  Europe  in  the  spring  of  1780.  These 
dates  prove  that  the  following  anecdote,  although  stated  by 
Mr.  Rembrandt  Peale  in  the  memoir  of  his  father,  published  in 
Leiber's  "Encyclopedia  Americana,"  cannot  be  true:—  "The 
writer  of  this  article  was  informed  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  that 
one  day  when  he  was  in  Mr.  West's  painting  room,  some 
hammering  arrested  his  attention.  'Oh,'  said  Mr.  West,  'that 
is  only  that  ingenious  young  Mr.  Peale,  repairing  some  of 
my  bells  and  locks.'  '  Though  we  dismiss  the  above  proof 
of  Mr.  Peale's  mechanical  propensities,  we  insert  another  in- 
stance with  pleasure.  It  is  a  more  pleasing  duty  to  display 
truth,  than  to  detect  and  expose  error,  but  we  shall  not  shrink 
from  the  latter  duty,  cost  what  it  may.  Mr.  Leslie,  in  one  of 
his  letters  from  West  Point,  says,  "Charles  Willson  Peale, 
Rembrandt's  father,  was  a  pupil  of  West's.  Mr.  West  painted 
to  the  last  with  a  palette,  which  Peale  had  most  ingeniously 
mended  for  him,  after  he  (West)  had  broken  and  thrown  it 
aside  as  useless.  It  was  a  small  palette;  but  he  never  used  any 
other  for  his  largest  pictures."  This  is  an  anecdote  showing 
the  gratitude  of  the  pupil,  and  the  regard  which  his  illustrious 
master  had  for  his  memory. 

Mr.  Peale,  who  seems  to  have  wished  to  play  every  part  in 
life's  drama,  not  content  with  being  a  saddler,  a  coach  maker, 
a  clock  and  watchmaker,  a  silversmith,  and  a  portrait  painter, 
studied  while  in  London  modeling  in  wax,  moulding  and 
casting  in  plaster,  painting  in  miniature,  and  engraving  in 
mezzotinto.  These  were  studies  allied  to  painting. 

executed  with  other  portraits  of  the  family  at  Mt.  Vernon  in  1772.  The  record  of  his 
work  at  this  period  contains  numerous  full  length  portraits  and  groups,  chiefly  of  per- 
sons in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  although  by  1772  his  reputation  had  extended  to 
Philadelphia  and  New  York  and  he  was  finally  induced  by  John  Dickinson  and  John 
Cadwalader  to  remove  to  Philadelphia  in  1776.  Peale  painted  portraits  of  Washington 
in  1777,  again  in  1779  and  also  in  1784  and  1787  and  again  in  1795. 


CHARLES  WILLSON   PEALE 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts 


ANECDOTE  OF  WASHINGTON  159 

On  his  return  to  Annapolis  in  1774,  he  found  constant  em- 
ployment at  portrait  painting.  He  was  now  probably  the  only 
portrait  painter  in  that  region.  Mr.  Peale,  having  brothers 
and  sisters,  made  them  all  painters.  His  brother  James  became 
a  respectable  miniature  painter. 

In  the  year  1776,  Charles  Willson  Peale  established  himself 
in  Philadelphia,  and  as  a  captain  of  volunteers,  he  joined 
Washington,  and  was  present  at  the  battles  of  Trenton  and 
German  town.  He  found  time  while  in  camp  to  exercise  his 
pencil,  and  painted  the  likenesses  of  many  officers. 

In  1779,  his  biographer  says,  he  represented  Philadelphia 
in  the  Pennsylvanian  legislature.  Thus  we  see  the  two  addi- 
tional avocations  of  soldier  and  statesman  engrafted  on  the 
already  overloaded  stock.  It  was  a  sturdy  stem;  but  no  stem 
can  bring  to  maturity  the  best  fruit  of  so  many  different  kinds, 
if,  as  is  the  case  with  man,  its  life  is  too  short  to  bring  any 
one  to  perfection. 

Mr.  Rembrandt  Peale  asserts  that  his  father  was  employed 
in  painting  a  miniature  of  General  Washington  at  a  farmhouse 
in  New  Jersey,  and  while  he  was  sitting  for  the  picture,  the 
general  received  "a  letter  announcing  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis."  This  is  related  as  occurring  while  Mr.  Peale  was  in 
the  army,  as  a  captain  of  volunteers.  "Mr.  Peale  had  his 
table  and  chair  near  the  window,  and  Washington  was  sitting 
on  the  side  of  a  bed,  the  room  being  too  small  for  another 
chair.  His  aide-de-camp,  Colonel  Tilghman  was  present.  It 
was  an  interesting  moment,  but  the  sitting  was  continued,  as 
the  miniature  was  intended  for  Mrs.  Washington."  The  sur- 
render of  Cornwallis  was  a  stupendous  event,  and  the  moment 
the  news  was  received  was  an  interesting  moment  to  all  Ameri- 
cans; but  the  surrender  took  place  the  19th  of  October,  1781, 
and  Washington  was  at  Yorktown,  Virginia,  commanding  the 
army  to  which  the  Briton  surrendered,  and  on  the  field  to 
receive  the  earl,  and  his  invading  army.  He  received  the  army 
and  his  lordship's  sword;  but  his  lordship  excused  himself  on 
the  plea  of  indisposition  from  attending  in  person  on  the 
humiliating  ceremony.  We  presume  that  the  incident  Mr. 


160  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Rembrandt  Peale  meant  to  record  of  his  father  and  General 
Washington,  belonged  to  an  earlier  portion  of  American  history, 
and  by  substituting  the  name  of  Burgoyne  for  Cornwallis  we 
have  an  interesting  anecdote. 

From  1779  to  1785,  Mr.  Peale  applied  himself  assiduously 
to  painting;  but  about  that  time  some  bones  of  a  mammoth 
having  been  brought  to  him,  the  idea  of  forming  a  museum, 
occurred  to  his  active  mind,  "and  this  new  pursuit  engaged 
all  his  thoughts."  He  now  became  a  collector,  and  preserver 
of  birds  and  beasts,  fishes  and  insects  —  of  all  that  fly,  leap, 
creep,  or  swim,  and  all  things  else.  Strangers  and  citizens 
contributed  to  enlarge  his  collection,  and  in  a  few  years  his 
picture  gallery  at  the  corner  of  Lombard  and  Third  Streets, 
after  several  enlargements  was  found  too  small  for  his  museum. 
It  was  then  removed  to  the  Philosophical  Hall,  and  there  it 
was  greatly  enlarged,  especially  by  the  skeleton,  which  was 
found  in  Ulster  county,  New  York,  and  disinterred  at  great 
expense  and  labor.  This  skeleton,  or  a  similar  one,  was  sent 
by  Mr.  Peale  to  London,  accompanied  by  his  sons  Rembrandt 
and  Rubens. 

Mr.  Peale  now  became  a  lecturer  on  natural  history,  and 
"his  lectures  were  attended  by  the  most  distinguished  citi- 
zens," but  finding  that  the  loss  of  his  front  teeth  interfered 
with  his  oratory,  he  became  a  dentist  to  supply  the  deficiency ; 
first  working  in  ivory,  and  then  making  porcelain  teeth  for 
himself  and  others. 

In  the  year  1791  Mr.  Peale  attempted  to  form  an  associa- 
tion as  an  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  in  Philadelphia.  The  only 
artists  named  by  his  biographer  as  joining  in  the  scheme  are 
Ceracchi,  the  celebrated  sculptor,  and  Mr.  Rush,  who,  though 
by  trade  a  carver  of  ships'  heads,  was,  by  talent  and  study,  an 
artist.  There  were  others,  natives  and  foreigners;  probably 
Joseph  Wright  was  among  them.  They  did  not  agree  in  form- 
ing a  plan,  and  separated.  Three  years  after  the  indefatigable 
Peale  made  another  effort  for  the  promotion  of  the  art  of 
designing;  collected  some  plaster  casts,  and  even  attempted  a 
life  school.  Finding  no  persons  willing  to  exhibit  themselves 


Copyright  Detroit  Publishing  Co. 

CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 

PORTRAIT  OF  THE  ARTIST  IN  HIS  MUSEUM 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts 


FORTUNES  OF  THE  PEALE  FAMILY  161 

for  hire  in  this  school,  his  zeal  induced  him  to  stand  as  the 
model.  An  exhibition  of  paintings  was  opened  in  the  chamber 
in  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  been  signed 
and  pictures  lent  by  the  citizens  for  the  purpose.  This  second 
attempt  of  Peale's  failed  likewise.1 

Mr.  Peale  in  the  meantime  continued  prosperously  to  push 
his  own  fortunes,  and  the  fortunes  of  his  numerous  progeny. 
He  had  a  succession  of  wives,  and  children  by  all;  his  last  con- 
sort was  Miss  Elizabeth  De  Peyster  of  New  York.  In  the 
year  1809,  Mr.  Peale  actively  promoted  the  measures  which 
resulted  in  an  association  of  gentlemen  of  influence  and  for- 
tune (of  course  not  artists),  who  erected  the  building,  called 
"The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts,"  imported 
casts,  and  purchased  pictures.  "Mr.  Peale,"  says  his  biog- 
rapher, "lived  to  see,  and  contribute  to  seventeen  annual 
exhibitions,"  in  the  galleries  of  this  institution.  The  estab- 
lishment of  this  nominal  academy,  called  forth  a  letter  from 
Mr.  West  to  Mr.  Peale,  dated  September  19,  1809  (which  is 
published  in  the  "  Port  Folio  of  1810,"  with  the  vulgar  error  of 
making  the  writer  "Sir  Benjamin").  West  expresses  his  grati- 
fication at  the  establishment  of  an  academy  in  Philadelphia, 
"for  cultivating  the  art  of  delineation."  He  argues  from  the 
flourishing  state  of  the  fine  arts  in  Greece  and  Rome,  when 

1  His  correspondence  of  this  period  shows  him  to  be  a  severe  critic  of  his  earlier  work 
and  he  refers  to  the  difficulties  he  had  met  with  the  loss  of  color  in  his  flesh  tints  through 
the  use  of  improper  pigments.  His  work  during  these  latter  years  consisted  chiefly 
of  family  portraits  in  which  he  combined  the  faithfulness  of  likeness  which  charac- 
terized his  work  with  charm  of  color  and  treatment  which  he  had  derived  from  the 
paintings  of  the  younger  school  of  artists.  These  portraits  are  but  little  known  to  the 
public  for  although  he  occasionally  accepted  a  commission  to  paint  for  others  than  his 
family,  he  made  it  a  point  to  suppress  his  claims  as  an  artist  in  order  to  make  it  appear 
that  his  sons  were  the  only  ones  of  the  name  engaged  in  art. 

His  retirement  from  painting  about  the  year  1795,  he  tells  us,  was  influenced  largely 
by  the  fact  that  his  sons  Raphael  and  Rembrandt  had  attained  sufficient  skill  to 
succeed  him  and  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  in  competition  with  them.  It  was  the 
same  unselfish  spirit  that  actuated  him  when  after  teaching  his  brother  James  Peale 
to  paint  in  miniature,  he  put  up  his  own  prices  to  a  point  that  would  divert  business 
to  his  brother  and  made  it  known  that  he  preferred  to  paint  "in  the  large"  only, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  demand  for  his  miniatures  had  given  him  lucrative 
employment  until  that  time.  It  appears  probable  that  consciously  or  unconsciously 
Rembrandt  Peale  was  quite  willing  to  take  advantage  of  his  father's  attitude  in  this 
respect  and  thus  gave  emphasis  to  the  other  pursuits  in  which  his  father  engaged  during 
his  retirement  but  which  had  no  relation  to  his  previous  career  as  an  artist. 


162  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

they  were  flourishing,  and  their  degradation,  with  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  state,  that  as  America  is  rising  in  greatness  to 
political  supremacy,  she  will  rise  proportionably  in  civilization 
and  the  arts. 

In  all  these  attempts  to  introduce  the  arts  of  design,  and  the 
cultivation  of  science,  Charles  Willson  Peale  did  his  part,  as 
far  as  circumstances  permitted,  and  honorably  under  every 
circumstance.  In  the  year  1827,  he  closed  his  long  and  busy 
life,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  In  height,  he  was  rather  below 
the  middle  size,  but  compactly  formed  and  athletic.  He  had 
not  experienced  the  usual  infirmities,  "which  flesh  is  heir  to" 
through  life,  nor  that  decay  attending  age  in  others;  and 
talked  confidently  of  enjoying  life  for  many  years  to  come: 
nay  sometimes,  as  if  death  was  not  the  legitimate  heir  of  all  of 
earthly  mould.  He  injured  himself  by  exertions  of  his  strength 
and  activity.  A  disease  of  the  heart  ensued;  and  after  some 
partial  amendments  and  relapses,  death  claimed  his  own. 

Mr.  Peale,  among  his  many  whims,  had  that  of  naming  his 
numerous  family  after  illustrious  characters  of  bygone  ages, 
particularly  painters.  A  dangerous  and  sometimes  ludicrous 
experiment.  Raphael,  Angelica  Kauffman,  Rembrandt,  Ru- 
bens, and  Titian,  and  many  other  great  folks,  were  all  his 
children. 

We  shall  sum  up  the  trades,  employments,  and  professions 
of  Mr.  Peale,  somewhat  as  his  biographer  in  the  "  Cabinet  of 
Natural  History  "  has  done.  He  was  a  saddler;  harnessmaker; 
clock  and  watchmaker;  silversmith;  painter  in  oil,  crayons, 
and  miniature;  modeler  in  clay,  wax,  and  plaster:  he  sawed 
his  own  ivory  for  his  miniatures,  moulded  the  glasses,  and 
made  the  shagreen  cases;  he  was  a  soldier;  a  legislator;  a 
lecturer;  a  preserver  of  animals,  —  whose  deficiencies  he  sup- 
plied by  means  of  glass  eyes  and  artificial  limbs;  he  was  a 
dentist  —  and  he  was,  as  his  biographer  truly  says,  "a  mild, 
benevolent,  and  good  man." 

At  the  close  of  the  biographical  sketch  given  in  the  "  Cabinet 
of  Natural  History,"  a  passage  occurs  which  we  cannot  pass 
over  unnoticed.  It  is  an  observation  given  by  the  biographer, 


REV.  JOSEPH  PILMORE 
1739-1825 

FROM  AN  ENGRAVING  IN  MEZZOTINT  BY  CHARLES  WlLLSON  PfiALE  AFTER 
HIS  OWN  PAINTING 


PEALE'S  INFERIORITY  TO  WEST  163 

Mr.  Rembrandt  Peale,  as  from  Mr.  John  Trumbull,  for  many 
years  a  pupil  and  protege  of  Mr.  West.  It  is  in  these  words, 
published  in  1830,  in  Philadelphia,  and  republished  in  New 
York,  where  Mr.  Trumbull  resided  at  the  time,  and  after. 
"That  an  interesting  comparison  might  be  drawn  between  Mr. 
Peale  and  his  countryman  Mr.*  West,  who  was  a  striking  in- 
stance how  much  could  be  accomplished  with  moderate  genius, 
by  a  steady  and  undeviating  course  directed  to  a  single  object, 
to  become  the  first  historical  painter  of  his  age;  whilst  the 
other  with  a  more  lively  genius,  was  able  to  acquire  an  extraor- 
dinary excellence  in  many  arts,  between  which  his  attention 
was  too  much  divided;  for  had  he  confined  his  operations  to 
one  pursuit,  he  probably  would  have  attained  the  highest 
excellence  in  the  fine  arts." 

Mr.  Peale's  son  is  justified  in  publishing  the  above  observa- 
tions; but  nothing  can  justify  the  man  who  made  them.1  A 
comparison  between  Peale  and  West,  to  those  who  knew  them 
and  know  their  works,  is  absolutely  ridiculous.  Where  is  the 
evidence  of  Mr.  Peale's  genius?  Perseverance  and  industry,  in 
well  doing,  cannot  be  too  much  praised.  West  was  industri- 
ous and  persevering;  and  his  works  show  that  he  was  a  man 
of  sublime  genius.  He  had  scarcely  attained  the  age  of  puberty 
when  he  rivalled  the  best  painter  in  Rome,  and  gained  aca- 
demical honors  throughout  Italy.  His  perseverance  and 
industry  had  not  had  time  to  do  anything  for  him,  when  on 
his  arrival  in  London,  young  and  unknown,  he  produced 
works,  by  his  potent  genius,  which  placed  him  before  all  who 
had  preceded  him  in  England.  He  was  immediately  acknowl- 
edged the  first  historical  painter  of  the  age. 

1  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  Peale  family  that  there  had  been  some  misunderstanding 
between  Dunlap  and  Rembrandt  Peale  which  made  the  former  threaten  to  retaliate 
by  more  or  less  depreciatory  estimate  of  Charles  Willson  Peale's  work  in  his  history, 
and  it  was  thought  by  many  that  this  attitude  is  apparent  in  the  work.  However 
that  may  be,  there  are  indications  that  many  errors  by  biographers  of  Peale  are  trace- 
able to  Rembrandt  Peale  himself  who  seems  to  have  been  rather  careless  in  his  writings, 
trusting  perhaps  too  largely  to  his  memory  and  impressions  rather  than  to  original 
sources  of  information.  It  is  possible  also  that  he  rather  took  advantage  of  his 
father's  tendency  to  depreciate  his  own  work  when  endeavoring  to  advance  the  son's 
interest  and  hence  the  emphasis  frequently  made  in  Rembrandt  Peale's  writings  on 
his  father's  activity  in  other  arts. 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Now  Mr.  Peale  appears  rather  to  have  delighted  in  mechani- 
cal employments;  and  his  genius  was  devoted  to  making  money. 
There  have  been  men,  truly  of  a  lively  genius,  who  might 
almost  be  compared  to  Mr.  Peale,  for  the  variety  of  their 
pursuits,  and  yet  excelled  both  as  artists  and  men.  We  will 
instance  Albert  Diirer.  He  only  lived  57  years,  and  that  in 
the  15th  and  16th  century,  yet  he  is  in  the  19th,  the  pride  of 
Germany  as  a  painter.  He  was  a  goldsmith;  a  great  engraver 
on  copper;  he  engraved  in  wood  with  a  skill  that  long  remained 
unrivalled;  he  was  a  carver  in  wood  and  ivory;  he  wrote 
treatises  in  his  native  tongue,  on  perspective,  anatomy, 
geometry,  architecture,  fortification,  painting,  and  the  Scrip- 
tures; and  translated  them  into  Latin,  French  and  Italian. 
Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  Albert  Diirer  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  a  free  and  self-governed  republic.  The 
works  of  West  and  Diirer  will  go  down  to  posterity;  those  of 
Charles  Willson  Peale  will  soon  be  forgotten,  although  several 
portraits  painted  by  him  in  his  old  age,  deserve  preservation, 
and  call  forth  admiration. 

WlNSTANLEY 

Is  known  about  this  time  to  have  painted  in  the  colonies. 
But  of 

HENRY  BENBRiDGE1 

Although  we  cannot  give  so  full  an  account  as  we  wish,  we 
have  rescued  something  from  oblivion.   At  a  very  early  period 

1  The  several  sources  of  information  from  which  Dunlap  wrote  the  career  of  Henry 
Benbridge  are  so  misleading  and  unfair  to  the  reputation  of  this  excellent  portrait 
painter  that  an  extended  notice  of  his  personality  and  work  as  an  artist  is  necessary. 
His  work  is  well  known  in  the  south  but  in  many  cases  portraits  by  Benbridge  are 
attributed  to  Copley;  in  fact,  most  of  the  portraits  of  women  found  in  the  south  at- 
tributed to  Copley  are  from  the  hand  of  Henry  Benbridge,  Copley  never  having  visited 
that  section  of  the  country,  although  it  is  often  claimed  that  he  did.  Unfortunately 
the  work  of  Benbridge,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  day,  is  not  signed.  He  painted 
several  miniatures  beautifully  executed,  and  the  one  of  himself  reproduced  in  this 
work  is  exceedingly  fine.  He  painted  several  family  groups.  Benbridge  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  May  20,  1744,  and  died  in  February,  1812.  His  father  dying  in  1751,  his 
mother  married  Thomas  Gordon,  a  citizen  of  distinction  and  wealth.  At  a  very  early 
age  Benbridge  went  to  Italy  to  study  and  progressed  so  well  that  in  1768  he  was  sent 
to  Corsica  on  the  order  of  James  Boswell  of  Auchinleck  to  paint  a  full  length  portrait 
of  General  Pascal  Paoli,  which  was  later  exhibited  in  London  and  engraved,  being 


HENRY  BENBRIDGE 

1744-1812 
BY  HIMSELF 


BIRTH  AND  EDUCATION  OF  BENBRIDGE        165 

we  heard  of  this  gentleman,  as  one  who  had  gone  to  Rome  to 
study  painting.  Mr.  Benbridge  was  born  in  Philadelphia 
about  the  year  1750.  Being  left  at  liberty  to  pursue  the  bent 
of  his  inclination  by  the  death  of  parents,  he  devoted  his 
patrimony  in  aid  of  his  desire  to  become  a  painter,  no  doubt 
stimulated  by  the  success  of  West;  and  he  was  the  second 
American  who  studied  the  fine  arts  at  Rome.  Mr.  Benbridge 
was  a  gentleman  by  birth,  and  had  received  a  liberal  education; 
the  time  of  his  visiting  Italy  we  must  suppose  to  be  1770:  and 
before  he  left  Philadelphia  he  had  shown  his  love  of  the  arts 
by  painting  the  panels  of  a  room  in  his  paternal  dwelling  with 
designs  from  history.  In  Rome  he  became  the  pupil  of  Pom- 
peio  Battoni,  and  received  instruction  from  Mengs.  We  have 
reason  to  believe  that  he  returned  to  America  in  1774,  and 
commenced  painting  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he 
was  the  instructor  of  Thomas  Coram.  Sometime  after  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Benbridge  painted  in  Philadelphia. 
He  is  thus  mentioned  by  James  Peller  Malcolm:  "Mr.  Ben- 
bridge,  a  relation  and  brother  student  of  Mr.  West,  who  had 
spent  several  years  at  Rome,  flattered  me  with  his  approba- 
tion, and  advised  an  immediate  voyage  to  Great  Britain."  He 
was  neither  a  relation,  nor  brother  student  of  West. 

He  married  Miss  Sage  of  Philadelphia,  and  I  met  a  son  of 
his  in  Perth  Amboy,  in  1800,  whose  residence  was  Phila- 
delphia, and  who  was  at  the  time  married  to  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Commodore  Truxton.  I  at  this  time  saw  several  portraits 
in  small  full  length,  of  the  Truxton  family,  by  the  artist,  and 
they  are  the  only  specimens  I  ever  saw  of  his  skill.  I  remember 
them  as  being  solidly  painted,  well  drawn,  like  the  personages, 
but  hard  and  without  any  distinguishing  mark  of  taste;  still 

published  in  May,  1769,  with  the  name  of  Bembridge  as  the  painter.  In  this  connection 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  painter's  name  is  spelled  on  the  mezzotint  engraving 
and  elsewhere  with  an  "m"  instead  of  an  "n."  While  in  London  Benbridge  painted 
a  portrait  of  Benjamin  Franklin  which  was  shown  at  the  Royal  Academy  exhibition 
of  1770.  This  picture  is  possibly  now  masquerading  as  a  portrait  of  some  one  else  or 
of  Franklin  by  some  other  painter.  Dunlap  is  in  error  in  giving  the  date  of  the  artist's 
return  to  Philadelphia  as  1774  as  Benbridge  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  in  Philadelphia  on  January  18,  1771.  There  is  absolutely  no 
authority  for  the  statement  by  Dunlap  that  Benbridge  died  in  "obscurity  and  poverty." 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

they  were  better  than  those  of  Charles  Willson  Peale  of  the 
same  date. 

Mr.  Benbridge  was  a  gentleman  of  good  classical  education, 
great  devotion  to  the  art,  and  persevering  industry.  He  had 
the  same  advantages  in  Italy  that  West  had  had;  and  yet, 
notwithstanding  Reynolds's  remark  that  nothing  is  denied  to 
perseverance  and  industry  well  directed,  he  acquired  all  his 
nature  was  seemingly  capable  of,  in  three  or  four  years'  study. 
In  the  year  1799,  Mr.  Thojnas  Sully,  then  a  youth,  found 
Mr.  Benbridge  settled  in  high  estimation  at  Norfolk,  Virginia. 
His  works  excited  Sully  to  attempt  oil  painting,  and  to  intro- 
duce himself  to  the  veteran  painter,  Sully  sat  to  him  for  his 
picture,  and  was  "well  repaid,"  as  he  has  said,  "by  his  useful 
and  kind  instruction." 

After  living  in  high  estimation  as  a  man  and  artist  many 
years  in  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia,  Mr.  Benbridge  returned 
to  his  native  city,  Philadelphia,  and  died  in  obscurity  and 
poverty. 

We  will  conclude  our  brief  memoir  by  quoting  from  our 
correspondents  who  have  answered  our  queries  on  the  subject 
of  Mr.  Benbridge. 

Mr.  Allston  says  Benbridge  left  many  portraits  of  his 
painting  in  South  Carolina,  but  he  does  not  remember  them 
sufficiently  to  speak  of  their  merits. 

Mr.  McMurtrie  says,  "He  was  a  promising  young  man, 
but  did  not  realize  much.  His  portraits  are  stiff  and  formal. 
He  painted  drapery  well,  particularly  silks  and  satins." 

Mr.  Charles  Fraser  says:  "Benbridge  painted  a  good  deal 
in  Charleston:  he  had  had  great  advantages,  having  studied 
in  Rome  under  Mengs  and  Pompeio  Battoni."  Of  Battoni 
the  reader  will  find  in  these  pages  an  anecdote  that  will  not 
exalt  him  in  his  opinion.  It  is  certain  that  the  portraits  by 
Benbridge  were  sought  after  eagerly  on  his  return,  and  he  was 
held  in  high  estimation  by  his  contemporaries.  Mr.  Fraser 
adds:  "The  generation  with  whom  he  lived  is  passed  away, 
and  all  means  of  information  are  gone  with  it.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  admire  his  portraits.  They  bear  evident  marks  of  a 


BENBRIDGE,  ALEXANDER  AND  WOOLASTON       167 

skilful  hand,  but  want  that  taste  which  gives  to  portrait  one  of 
its  greatest  charms.  His  shadows  were  dark  and  opaque,  and 
more  suitable  to  the  historical  style.  I  have  however  seen  one 
or  two  of  his  pictures,  which  I  thought  displayed  great  knowl- 
edge of  the  art."  We  must  remark  that  dark  and  opaque 
shadows,  though  they  may  be  more  tolerable  in  the  historic 
(in  certain  subjects)  than  in  the  portrait  style,  are  faults  in  any 
style.  Nature  disclaims  them,  and  she  is  the  only  teacher  of 
true  art. 

Mr.  Sully  describes  Mr.  Benbridge  as  a  portly  man,  of  good 
address  —  gentlemanly  in  his  deportment.  He  told  a  good 
story,  and  was  in  other  respects  not  unlike  Gilbert  Stuart. 

The  next  person  who  calls  for  our  attention  is  a  Scotch 
gentleman  of  the  name  of 

COSMO   ALEXANDER1 

Who  painted  portraits  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island  in  1772.  As 
all  we  know  of  this  gentleman  is  from  Doctor  Waterhouse, 
and  is  incorporated  with  the  memoir  soon  to  follow,  that  of 
Gilbert  C.  Stuart,  we  here  merely  notice,  that  at  the  time  of 
his  arrival  Mr.  Alexander  was  between  fifty  and  sixty  —  that 
he  painted  all  the  Scotch  gentlemen  of  the  place,  and  finding 
Stuart  a  promising  boy,  he  gave  him  lessons,  and  finally  took 
the  youth  with  him  to  South  Carolina,  and  thence  to  Edin- 
burgh. Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  his  native  country,  he 
died. 

WOOLASTON.2 

This  English  gentleman  visited  the  colonies  about  the  year 
1772,  and  painted  a  great  many  pictures  in  Virginia  and  Mary- 

1  Cosmo  Alexander  came  to  America  from  Scotland  in  1770  and  settled  at  Newport, 
R.  I. 

1  The  name  Wollaston  appears  frequently  in  the  "  Dictionary  of  National  Biog- 
raphy." Different  writers  have  erred  in  confusing  the  John  Woolaston  whose  birth  is 
given  in  the  "Picture  Collectors  Manual"  by  J.  R.  Hobbes  as  "about  1672"  with  the 
John  Wollaston,  a  son  of  the  former,  who  painted  portraits  in  Philadelphia  and  the 
South  as  early  as  1758.  Both  father  and  son  were  portrait  painters  whose  work  is 
absolutely  different  in  character.  There  is,  according  to  Walpole  in  his  "  Anecdotes  of 
Painters,  '  a  portrait  in  the  British  Museum  of  Thomas  Britton.  It  is  inscribed  "  Aetat 
63,  1703"  and  signed  "J.  Wollaston  P."  There  is  also  in  the  collection  of  Colonel  John 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

land.  Many  of  his  portraits  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  Peters- 
burg. Mr.  Robert  Sully,  who  has  kindly  exerted  himself  in 
making  researches  into  the  antiquities  of  art  in  Virginia  to 
assist  the  writer,  says,  "The  only  artists  that  are  remembered 
by  the  oldest  inhabitants,  are  DURAND,  MANLY,  and  Woolas- 
ton  —  the  first  tolerable,  the  second  execrable,  and  the  third 
very  good.  His  portraits  possess  unquestionable  merit.  Among 
those  in  Petersburg,  is  the  grandmother  of  the  late  John 
Randolph  of  Roanoke,  an  excellent  portrait.  The  pictures  of 
Woolaston  are  very  much  in  the  Kneller  style:  more  feeble 
than  the  style  of  Reynolds,  but  with  a  very  pretty  taste." 

MANLY. 

A  very  bad  portrait  painter,  and  only  mentioned  as  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  the  arts.  He  painted  in  Virginia. 

SMITH. 

This  gentleman  is  known  among  American  travellers,  par- 
ticularly artists  who  visit  Italy,  as  old  Mr.  Smith.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  116  years  of  age  in  1834.  If  so,  he  was  born  in 
the  year  1718.  He  is  a  native  of  Long  Island,  State  of  New 
York,  brother  to  the  well-remembered  Doctor  Smith  (whose 
eccentric  character  and  verses  afforded  more  amusement  than 
instruction),  and  uncle  to  Col.  William  Smith,  an  aid  to  Wash- 
ington, and  son-in-law  to  John  Adams.  Mr.  Smith  devoted 
himself  to  painting,  and  was  probably  the  third  American  who 
pursued  the  coy  art  to  Italy,  West  being  the  first  and  Ben- 
bridge  the  second.  Smith  never  became  a  distinguished  artist, 
and  fell  into  the  trade  of  picture  dealer,  by  which  it  is  believed 
that  he  acquired  a  competency  for  old  age.  He  lives  near 
Florence. 

Sherburne  of  Brookline,  Mass.,  a  portrait  of  his  ancestor  Henry  Sherburne,  born  in 
1674,  signed  "  John  Woollaston  P.  1709/10.  These  two  pictures  above  noted  are  the 
work  of  the  father  and  the  portraits  painted  in  Philadelphia,  Virginia,  Maryland  and 
New  York  in  and  before  1760  are  the  work  of  the  junior  Wollaston.  The  father 
evidently  spelled  his  name  Wollaston  at  one  time  and  Woollaston  at  a  later  date.  The 
portrait  of  George  Whitefield,  engraved  by  Faber  and  painted  in  1742,  is  ascribed  to 
John  Wollaston,  Jr. 


JOHN  PARKE  AND  MARTHA  CUSTIS 

WASHINGTON'S  STEP-CHILDREN 
BY  JOHN  WOOLASTON 


A  PAINTER'S  ADVERTISEMENT  169 

DURAND 

I  place  at  this  date  (1772),  but  with  uncertainty.  My  only 
knowledge  of  him  is  from  Mr.  R.  Sully,  who  says,  "He  painted 
an  immense  number  of  portraits  in  Virginia;  his  works  are  hard 
and  dry,  but  appear  to  have  been  strong  likenesses,  with  less 
vulgarity  of  style  than  artists  of  his  calibre  generally  possess." 
Of  the  pictures  brought  or  sent  to  Virginia,  Mr.  Sully  says, 
"There  are  certainly  a  few  pictures  in  some  of  the  old  family 
mansions,  of  considerable  merit,  sent  to  this  country  from  Eng- 
land during  the  existence  of  the  colonies,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
conjecture  who  the  artists  were,  as  no  record  is  attached  to  them, 
and  they  are  remembered  by  the  possessors  as  old  fixtures,"1 

1  Portraits  inscribed  "Thomas  Newton  Mi.  56,  1770.  John  Durand  pinxt"  and 
"Amy  Newton  yEt.  45, 1770.  John  Durand  pinxt"  belonged  in  1896  to  Tazewell  Taylor 
of  Virginia.  Durand  also  painted  portraits  of  Dr.  Joshua  Lathrop  1723-1807  and  Mrs. 
Mercy  (Eels)  Lathrop  1743-1833,  Rufus  Lathrop  1731-1805,  Mrs.  Hannah  (Choate) 
Lathrop  1739-1785.  The  following  advertisements  (New  York  Journal,  for  November 
26,  1767  and  April  7,  1768),  supply  further  information  in  regard  to  this  little-known 
artist: 

"  A  DRAWING  SCHOOL.  Any  young  Gentleman  inclined  to  learn  the  Principles  of 
Design,  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  draw  any  objects  and  shade  them  with  Indian  Ink  or 
Water-Colours,  which  is  both  useful  and  ornamental  may  be  taught  by  JOHN 
DURAND,  at  any  Time  after  four  in  the  Afternoon,  at  his  House  in  Broad  Street,  near 
the  City  Hall,  for  a  reasonable  Price." 

"  The  Subscriber  having  from  his  infancy  endeavored  to  qualify  himself  in  the  art 
of  historical  painting,  humbly  hopes  for  that  encouragement  from  the  gentlemen  and 
ladies  of  this  city  and  province,  that  so  elegant  and  entertaining  an  art  has  always 
obtained  from  people  of  the  most  improved  minds  and  best  taste  and  judgment,  in  all 
polite  nations  in  every  age.  And  tho'  he  is  sensible  that  to  excel  (in  this  branch  of 
painting  especially)  requires  a  more  ample  fund  of  universal  and  accurate  knowledge 
than  he  can  pretend  to  in  geometry,  geography,  perspective,  anatomy,  expression  of 
the  passions,  antient  and  modern  history,  &c.,  &c.,  yet  he  hopes,  from  the  good  nature 
and  indulgence  of  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  employ  him,  that  his  humble  attempts 
in  which  his  best  endeavours  will  not  be  wanting,  will  meet  with  acceptance,  and  give 
satisfaction;  and  he  proposes  to  work  at  as  cheap  rates  as  any  person  in  America. 

To  such  gentlemen  and  ladies  as  have  thought  but  little  upon  this  subject  and  might 
only  regard  painting  as  a  superfluous  ornament,  I  would  just  observe,  that  history 
painting,  besides  being  extremely  ornamental  has  many  important  uses.  It  presents 
to  our  view  some  of  the  most  interesting  scenes  recorded  in  antient  or  modern  history, 
gives  us  more  lively  and  perfect  ideas  of  the  things  represented,  than  we  could  receive 
from  a  historical  account  of  them,  and  frequently  recals  to  our  memory  a  long  train  of 
events  with  which  those  representations  were  connected.  They  show  us  a  proper 
expression  of  the  passions  excited  by  every  event,  and  have  an  effect,  the  very  same  in 
kind  (but  stronger)  than  a  fine  historical  description  of  the  same  passage  would  have 
upon  a  judicious  reader.  Men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  for  the  good  of  their 
country  and  mankind  may  be  set  before  our  eyes  as  examples,  and  to  give  us  their 
silent  lessons  —  and  besides,  every  judicious  friend  and  visitant  shares,  with  us  in  the 
advantage  and  improvement,  and  increases  its  value  to  ourselves.  JOHN  DURAND." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ENGRAVING. 

THE  earliest  specimens  of  engraving  are  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, and  the  first  artist  on  record  is  Martin  Schoen,  of  Culm- 
bach,  who  died  in  1486.  The  Italians  claim  the  invention; 
but  it  is  remarkable  that  the  first  book  printed  at  Rome  had 
the  first  engravings  executed  there,  and  they  were  done  by 
two  Germans  —  the  date  1478.  The  names  of  Lucas  Jacobs 
and  Albert  Diirer  are  too  well  known  to  require  notice  here. 
We  shall  mention  both  in  our  history  of  wood  engraving 
which,  though  preceding  that  on  copper,  was  not  so  soon 
practised  with  us. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Italian  painters  etched  and  en- 
graved on  copper.  Other  artists  devoted  themselves  to  en- 
graving alone,  and  worked  from  the  designs  of  Raffaelle  and 
the  great  men  who  reared  the  fabric  of  art  at  that  period. 
Still  the  German  and  Dutch  artists  led  the  way,  and  Cort  was 
the  first  engraver  on  large  plates,  and  the  instructor  of  many 
Italians. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  art  began  to  flourish  in 
France,  and  encouraged  by  Colbert,  attained  high  perfection. 
But  the  most  distinguished  artist  of  the  time  was  Edelinck  of 
Antwerp.  The  history  of  the  art  in  France  in  the  next  century 
is  the  same  —  a  German,  Wille,  being  the  best  engraver. 

The  Flemish  and  Dutch  painters  etched  and  engraved. 
Van  Dyck,  Bol,  Ruysdael,  and  many  others,  practised  the  art 
with  taste  and  success. 

The  true  mode  of  giving  a  history  of  engraving  would  be  by 
a  series  of  prints  illustrative  of  its  progress.  This  forms  no 
part  of  our  plan,  and  is  far  beyond  our  power.  Our  sketch  of 
the  history  of  the  art  is  merely  to  illustrate  what  we  may 
hereafter  say  of  the  progress  of  the  arts  in  America. 

170 


DIFFERENT  PROCESSES  USED  171 

In  England  both  painting  and  engraving  were  indebted  to 
foreigners,  generally  Flemish,  Dutch  and  German,  for  exist- 
ence, until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Of  early 
English  artists  one  of  the  most  eminent  is  George  Vertue,  who 
died  in  1756. 

The  founder  of  the  school  of  English  landscape  engraving 
is  Francis  Vivares,  a  Frenchman.  But  the  greatest  of  the 
school  is  a  native  of  England,  Woollett.  They  both  carried 
the  plates  a  great  way  towards  the  completion  by  etching,  and 
finished  with  the  graver  —  the  usual  mode  now  practised.  — 
Woollett  was  not  confined  to  landscape,  as  his  great  work, 
after  West's  "  Death  of  Wolfe,"  sufficiently  proves.  England 
now  stands,  and  has  for  many  years  stood,  pre-eminent  in 
engravers  and  engraving. 

The  works  of  Hogarth  must  not  be  passed  over  unnoticed, 
even  in  this  brief  sketch.  To  mention  them  is  to  praise  them 
both  as  productions  of  the  engraver  and  the  painter.  In  the 
latter  character  he  is  now  acknowledged  as  among  the  glories 
of  the  art;  in  point  of  time,  the  first  great  English  painter;  in 
merit,  equal  to  the  best. 

Engraving,  or  working  with  the  graver,  was  the  first  or  old- 
est practice,  etching  followed,  and  became  an  auxiliary  to  the 
graver  —  this  is  working  the  lines  through  wax,  or  a  prepara- 
tion of  it,  and  biting  them  in  the  metal  by  acids.  Mezzotinto 
is  produced  by  making  the  copper  a  mass  of  roughness,  which, 
if  printed,  would  be  one  black  spot;  and  then  scraping  out 
the  various  degrees  of  tint  and  light.  This  was  a  Dutch  in- 
vention likewise,  and  has  been  attributed  to  Prince  Rupert. 
Stippling  is  another  mode  of  engraving. 

The  ruling  machine,  invented  by  Wilson  Lowry,  of  Lon- 
don, has  given  great  facility  to  the  engraving  of  skies,  and  all 
subjects  which  require  parallel  lines. 

The  instruments  used  by  engravers  are  the  burin  or  graver; 
this  makes  an  incision  in  the  plate  as  it  is  guided  by  the  hand. 
The  burnisher  is  used  to  soften  lines  if  cut  too  deep.  The 
scraper  is  a  steel  instrument  whose  use  is  to  take  off  the  barb 
formed  by  the  action  of  the  graver.  Needles  of  various  diame- 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ters  are  used  to  form  the  lines  through  the  hard  or  soft  grounds 
in  etching,  and  sometimes  in  dry  etching  —  that  is,  when  the 
plate  is  touched  without  being  covered  with  a  ground.  The 
tools  used  in  mezzotinto  work  are  for  making  the  plate  uni- 
formly rough,  and  for  scraping  out  the  lights;  and  the  ruling 
machine  is  used,  as  before  mentioned,  in  etching.  Engraving 
on  wood  we  notice  in  other  parts  of  our  work. 

As  this  introductory  sketch  is  not  intended  to  instruct  artists, 
but  merely  to  illustrate  what  shall  be  said  of  the  progress  of 
engraving  in  the  United  States,  we  refer  the  reader  for  further 
information  to  Sturt,  Landseer,  and  the  very  many  books 
treating  on  the  subject.1 

The  first  engraver  in  our  country,  in  point  of  time,  that  comes 
within  our  knowledge,  is 

NATHANIEL  HURD, 

Who,  according  to  a  writer  in  Buckingham's  "  New  England 
Magazine  "  (a  work  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  all  we  know 
of  Hurd),  engraved  "a  miniature  likeness  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Sewall,  minister  of  the  old  South  Church  in  Boston,"  "in  the 
linear  style,  in  1764.2  In  this  art  he  was  his  own  instructor. 
There  are  still  extant  a  few  pictures  of  a  different  character, 
done  on  copper,  by  Hurd,  about  the  same  period."  "Hurd," 
says  the  same  writer,  "was  a  real  genius.  To  a  superior  mode 
of  execution,  he  added  a  Hogajthian  talent  of  character  and 
humor.  Among  other  things  of  his"  of  course  designed  by 
himself,  "he  engraved  a  descriptive  representation  of  a  certain 
swindler  and  forger  of  bills,  named  Hudson,  a  foreigner,  stand- 
ing in  the  pillory.  In  the  crowd  of  spectators,  he  introduced 
the  likenesses  of  some  well-known  characters. 

"In  the  year  1762,  there  appeared  in  Boston  a  curious  char- 
acter who  called  himself  Dr.  Hudson,"  who,  and  an  agent 

1  The  reader  unacquainted  with  the  ordinary  processes  of  engraving  may  find  useful 
examples  in  the  plates  reproduced  in  this  work,  viz. :  line  —  The  Rescinders,  by  Revere; 
mezzotinto  —  Rev.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  by  Jennys;  stipple  —  The  Washington  Family, 
by  Savage;  aquatinta  —  The  U.  S.  Frigate  Hudson,  by  Bennett;  wood  —  The  Squirrel 
Opossum,  by  Anderson. 

1  The  original  plate  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 


NATHANIEL  KURD 

1730r1777 
BY  JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY 

From  the  collection  of  The  Cleveland  Museum  of  Art 


"THE  NOTORIOUS  DOCTOR  HUDSON"  173 

employed  by  him  of  the  name  of  Howe,  were  convicted  of 
forgery  and  uttering  "province  notes."  "Hudson  was  ordered 
to  the  pillory,  and  Howe  to  the  whipping-post."  "Hurd  im- 
mediately put  out  a  caricature  print  of  the  exhibition."  The 
Doctor  was  in  the  pillory,  and  Howe  preparing  to  undergo 
his  degrading  punishment.  "The  devil  is  represented  flying 
towards  the  Doctor,  exclaiming,  This  is  the  man  for  me.  In 
front  of  the  print  is  the  representation  of  a  medallion,  on  which 
is  a  profile  of  Hudson,  dressed  in  a  bag  wig,  with  a  sword 
under  his  arm  (as  he  generally  appeared  before  his  detection), 
partly  drawn  from  the  scabbard,  with  the  words  Dutch  Tuck 
on  the  exposed  part  of  the  blade.  Round  the  edge  is,  THE 

TRUE    PROFILE    OP    THE    NOTORIOUS    DOCTOR    SETH    HUDSON, 

1762.  The  Doctor  is  made  to  speak  as  well  as  the  devil,  but 
he  speaks  in  verse.  The  print  is  marked  'Sold  by  N.  Hurd, 
near  the  Exchange,  and  at  the  Heart  and  Crown,  in  Cornhill, 
Boston.'  M1 

In  our  days  of  childhood  we  remember  seeing  caricature 
prints  executed  in  Philadelphia,  generally  political,  one  in  par- 
ticular, in  which  the  devil  and  Doctor  Franklin  were  intro- 
duced, his  majesty  with  a  label  from  his  mouth,  saying,  "Never 
mind,  Ben!  you  shall  be  my  agent  yet."  Judge  Hopkinson 
told  us  that  he  saw  rude  prints  of  this  description  in  a  journey 
through  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and  wished  to  purchase 
them,  but  the  possessors  conceiving  that  what  the  judge  wished 
nlust  be  of  great  value,  demanded  a  price  so  far  beyond  reason, 
that  he  relinquished  all  thought  of  buying. 

The  writer  above  quoted  from  says  further  of  Mr.  Hurd, 
"He  was  born  in  Boston,  February  13th,  1730,  and  died  De- 
cember 17th,  1777,  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  forty- 
eight.  There  is  an  original  picture  of  him,  painted  by  Copley, 
in  the  possession  of  one  of  his  relatives  at  Medford,  Mass. 

1  Hudson  was  a  native  of  Lexington,  residing  successively  in  Marlboro  and  West 
Hoosuck  (Williamstown).  In  1757  he  was  in  command  as  Lieutenant  of  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts, a  post  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  by  the  head  of  the  regiment,  Col. 
Ephraim  Williams. 

Hudson's  accomplice,  Joshua  Howe,  was  a  native  of  Sudbury,  Mass.,  although  at 
the  time  of  his  arrest  resident  in  Westmoreland,  N.  H. 

Each  of  the  culprits  suffered  exposure  in  the  pillory,  stripes,  imprisonment  and  fine. 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

From  that  picture  a  man  by  the  name  of  Jennings  (of  whom 
we  can  learn  little  else)  engraved  a  likeness  in  mezzotinto."1 


PAUL  REVERE 

Is  the  next  artist,  in  point  of  time,  that  handled  the  graver  in 
our  country,  as  far  as  we  know,  and  our  knowledge  of  him  is 
derived  from  the  same  fountain  of  useful  information,  Bucking- 
ham's "  New  England  Magazine."  Mr.  Revere's  grandfather 
was  a  French  Huguenot,  who  emigrated  to  Guernsey,  and  his 
father  married  and  settled  as  a  goldsmith  in  Boston.  Paul 
was  brought  up  by  his  father  as  a  goldsmith,  but  having  a 
natural  taste  for  drawing,  he  designed  and  engraved  the  orna- 
ments on  the  plates  wrought  at  the  shop. 

In  1756  he  received  the  appointment  of  lieutenant  of  artil- 
lery, and  served  in  the  expedition  against  Crown  Point.  Re- 
turning to  Boston  he  married,  and  carried  on  the  business  of 
goldsmith,  which,  with  engraving,  and  the  study  of  mechanics 
as  a  science,  occupied  him  during  a  long  and  active  life. 

The  caricatures  of  Hurd  and  Revere  not  only  mark  the  state 
of  the  art  at  the  time,  but  of  society;  and  the  political  temper  of 
the  colonies,  particularly  Massachusetts. 

"Engraving  on  copper  was  an  art  in  which,  as  in  some 
others,  he  was  self -instructed.  One  of  his  earliest  engravings 

1  (See  paragraph  "Jennings,"  with  note  "Richard  Jennys  Jr.,"  on  pp.  184-5.) 

Hurd  was  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Mason)  Hurd;  born  in  Boston  in  1730 
and  died  there  in  1777. 

He  inherited  the  tools  of  his  father,  a  goldsmith  descended  from  John  Hurd  who 
settled  in  Boston  in  1639.  Besides  the  plates  mentioned  above  it  is  known  that  he 
engraved  a  loan  certificate  for  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  a  Masonic  blank, 
a  blank  form  for  military  commissions  and  a  considerable  number  of  book-plates  or 
ex-libri*  of  which  many  examples  are  extant.  His  shop  was  originally  on  King  Street 
(now  State  Street  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  number  33). 

Dunlap's  information  concerning  the  early  American  engravers  appears  to  have 
been  meagre.  He  makes  no  mention  of  Peter  Pelham,  Thomas  Johnston,  and  James 
Turner,  nor  of  the  still  earlier  names  of  John  Foster,  John  Cony,  Thomas  Emmes, 
William  Burgis,  Francis  Dewing  and  Nathaniel  Mors. 

The  Massachusetts  bills  of  credit  engraved  on  copper  in  1690  may  have  been  the 
work  of  John  Cony  as  they  are  said  to  resemble  in  execution  similar  plates  which  Cony 
engraved  in  1702-3,  but  the  earliest  known  copper-plate  engraving  of  a  sure  date  pro- 
duced in  this  country  is  the  portrait  of  Increase  Mather  by  Thomas  Emmes,  which  is 
dated  1701. 


PAUL  REVERE 
1735-1818 

FHUM  AN   ENGRAVING  BY  S.  A.  ScHOFF  AFTER  A  PAINTING  BT  GILBERT  STUART 


A  POLITICAL  CARICATURE  175 

of  this  description  was  a  portrait  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Mayhew.1 
In  1766,  he  engraved  on  copper  a  picture,  emblematical  of  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  He  also  executed  a  very  popular 
caricature,  of  the  'Seventeen  Rescinders.5  As  there  are  not 
extant  many  copies  of  this  print,  some  account  of  it  may  be 
interesting.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1768,  when  the 
measures  of  the  British  government  were  assuming  more  and 
more  of  a  threatening  appearance,  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  Massachusetts,  voted  to  send  a  circular  letter  to  the 
legislatures  of  the  several  Provinces,  upon  the  alarming  state 
of  affairs  with  the  mother  country.  This  measure  gave  so  much 
umbrage  to  the  King,  that  he  sent  out  orders  to  Governor 
Bernard,  peremptorily  to  demand  that  the  said  vote  should 
be  rescinded  and  obliterated.  This  demand  being  judged  un- 
reasonable, after  debate,  a  vote  was  passed  not  to  conform  to 
it.  Seventeen  members  only  voting  for  it,  and  ninety-two 
against  it.  These  numbers  became  notorious  in  a  political  sense. 
Seventeen  being  called  the  Tory  number,  and  the  glorious 
ninety-two,  as  it  was  called,  was  denominated  that  of  the 
Whigs.  The  seventeen  members  were  branded  with  the  name 
of  rescinders,  and  were  treated  in  the  most  contemptuous  man- 
ner. Mr.  Revere's  caricature  helped  to  increase  the  odium. 
It  was  entitled,  "A  WARM  PLACE  —  HELL!"  The  delineation 
was  a  pair  of  monstrous  open  jaws,  resembling  those  of  a  shark, 
with  flames  issuing  from  them,  and  the  devil,  with  a  large 
pitchfork,  driving  the  seventeen  rescinders  into  the  flames, 
exclaiming,  "Now  I've  got  you,  a  fine  hawl  by  Jove."  As  a 
reluctance  is  shown  by  the  foremost  man,  at  entering,  who  is 
supposed  to  represent  the  Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles,  of  Worcester 
county,  another  devil  is  drawn,  with  a  fork,  flying  towards 
him,  and  crying  out,  "Push  on  Tim."  Over  the  upper  jaw  is 
seen,  in  the  background,  the  cupola  of  the  Province  House, 
with  the  Indian  and  bow  and  arrow  (the  arms  of  the  Province), 
which  house  was  the  governor's  residence. 

1  This  plate  was  presumably  engraved  at  the  time  of  Mayhew's  death,  July  9,  1766. 
There  is  an  impression  from  it  in  the  New  York  Public  Library.  The  earliest  entry  for 
engraving  in  Revere's  journal  is  under  date  of  March  22,  1762,  charging  John  Pulling 
for  "  Cutting  a  Copper  Plate  for  Notifications,"  probably  for  Masonic  meetings. 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"In  1770,  Mr.  Revere  published  an  engraved  print,  repre- 
senting the  massacre  in  King  Street  on  the  memorable  FIFTH 
OF  MARCH,  and  in  1774,  another,  of  an  historical  character, 
representing  the  landing  of  the  British  troops  in  Boston.1 
Copies  of  all  these,  though  extremely  rare,  are  still  extant.  A 
lithographic  facsimile  of  the  print  first  mentioned,  has  been 
recently  republished. 

"In  1775,  he  engraved  the  plates,  made  the  press,  and 
printed  the  bills,  of  the  paper  money,  ordered  by  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  Massachusetts,  then  in  session  at  Watertown. 
He  was  sent  by  this  Congress  to  Philadelphia  to  obtain  in- 
formation respecting  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  The 
only  powder  mill,  then  in  the  CDlonies,  was  in  the  vicinity  of 
Philadelphia.  The  proprietor  refused  to  let  Revere  take  any 
drawing  or  specification  whatever,  or  any  memorandum  of  the 
manufacture,  but  consented  to  show  him  the  mill  in  full  opera- 
tion. His  mechanical  skill  was  now  brought  into  action. 
With  the  slight  information  thus  obtained,  he  was  able,  on  his 
return,  to  construct  a  mill,  which  was  soon  put  in  operation, 
and  with  complete  success."  * 

The  following  extracts  from  his  letter  to  the  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  will  be 
found  interesting: 

"Dear  Sir,  —  In  the  fall  of  1774  and  whiter  of  1775,  I  was 
one  of  upwards  of  thirty,  chiefly  mechanics,  who  formed  our- 

*  These  memoirs  of  Hurd  and  Revere,  I  presume  to  be  from  the  pen  of  the  vener- 
able and  learned  Doctor  Waterhouse  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  from  whom  much 
valuable  matter  will  be  found  in  these  pages. 

1This  statement  confuses  twoengravings — "A  VIEWOFPART  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  BOSTON 
IN  NEW  ENGLAND  AND  BRITTISH  SHIPS  OF  WAK  LANDING  THEIB  TROOPS!  1768"  and 
"  A  VIEW  OF  THE  TOWN  OF  BOSTON  WITH  SEVERAL  SHIPS  OF  WAR  IN  THE  HARBOUR." 
The  former  was  a  separate  print,  published  in  April  1770;  the  latter  appeared  in  The 
Royal  American  Magazine  of  January,  1774. 

Revere  was  a  better  artisan  than  artist.  His  plates  are  crude  in  execution,  and,  con- 
trary to  the  usual  supposition,  were  chiefly  from  the  designs  of  others,  the  plate  of 
the  notes  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  after  Kurd's  engrav- 
ing; the  portrait  of  Benjamin  Church  from  an  English  print  of  Charles  Churchill,  and 
"THE  BLOODY  MASSACRE"  of  the  fifth  of  March  1770,  from  Henry  Pelham's  drawing, 
being  examples  of  such  copying.  The  high  esteem  in  which  Revere's  engravings  are 
held  by  collectors  is  due  to  their  historical  interest  and  rarity,  combined  with  the  pat- 
riotic sentiment  attaching  to  his  name  to  which  Longfellow's  poem,  "  Paul  Revere's 
Ride  "  largely  contributed. 


H-df-a's  SPEECH  from  the  Pillory. 


W 


1AT  mean  thefe  Crouds,  this  Noifc  and  Roar 
Did   ye  ne'er  fee  a   K ogut  before ! 
'»en  a  Sight  fo  fare, 

prcfs  oad   gape  and  (tare  * 
forward  all  who  look  fo  fine, 
illy  got  as   mine  : 

: you  1   fcon    reverie   the  Show  ; 

...c,  and  Jnu  below. 

— for   my  Roguery  here  I  ftand, 

.il    .he    find; 

i   this  Stage, 

•eatrji  I  ;//j<»    ot    the   Age. 
iititi  have  been  both  great  and  many^ 

few,  if  any  : 

>r  the  Mifchicis  I  have  done 
tin  wooiittt  Naktl-.th  on. 


«|&  There  HOW  his  brawny  Back  is  ftri; 
*3&  QH'te  callous  grown  with  often  whipping 
V.  t  In  vain  you  wear  your  U'bif-dtrtt  out, 
a  f  You'l  ne'er  reclaim  that  Regtu  fa  Jhut. 
I"  j  To  nuke  him  honed,  take  my  Word, 
•a  ?  You  muft  apply  a  tiggtr  CorJ. 

,3  f      Now  all  ye  who  behold  this  SJghr, 
f  i  TTut  ye  may  grt  fomc  prout  by't, 
J  t*  Keep  always  in  your  Mind,  I  prav, 
^C*  Thcfc  few  Words  tKit  f  have  to  la/. 
^i1.*  follow  my  Strpj  and   you   may   he 
ji ".  l:i  "1  imc,   perhaps.  atU.iiK'd  like  me  ; 
iff,  ().-.  like  my   felfow  Lib'ref   HOIf, 
W  You  1  get  at  leafi   a   'y'4/i  below. 
*/» 


S«U  tijr  N.  HOUD,  Acat  the  txcbinjf,  an)  u  ibc  /i.x  jii.i  &«.«  ia  C .. 


CARICATURE  OF  SETH  HUDSON 

FROM  THE   ENGRAVING    BY  NATHANIEL  KURD 


"THE  MIDNIGHT  RIDE  OF  PAUL  REVERE"      177 

selves  into  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  move- 
ments of  the  British  soldiers,  and  gaining  every  intelligence 
of  the  movements  of  the  Tories.  We  held  our  meetings  at  the 
Green  Dragon  tavern.  We  were  so  careful  that  our  meetings 
should  be  kept  secret,  that  every  time  we  met,  every  person 
swore  upon  the  Bible,  that  they  would  not  discover  any  of  our 
transactions,  but  to  Messrs.  HANCOCK,  ADAMS,  Doctors  WAR- 
REN, CHURCH,  and  one  or  two  more. 

"In  the  winter,  towards  the  spring,  we  frequently  took 
turns,  two  and  two,  to  watch  the  soldiers,  by  patrolling  the 
streets  all  night.  The  Saturday  night  preceding  the  19th 
of  April,  about  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  the  boats  belonging 
to  the  transports  were  all  launched,  and  carried  under  the 
sterns  of  the  men-of-war.  (They  had  been  previously  hauled 
up  and  repaired.)  We  likewise  found  that  the  grenadiers  and 
light  infantry  were  all  taken  off  duty. 

"From  these  movements  we  expected  something  serious 
was  to  be  transacted.  On  Tuesday  evening,  the  18th,  it  was 
observed,  that  a  number  of  soldiers  were  marching  towards 
the  bottom  of  the  Common.  About  ten  o'clock,  Dr.  Warren 
sent  in  great  haste  for  me,  and  begged  that  I  would  immedi- 
ately set  off  for  Lexington,  where  Messrs.  Hancock  and 
Adams  were,  and  acquaint  them  of  the  movement,  and  that  it 
was  thought  they  were  the  objects.  When  I  got  to  Dr.  War- 
ren's house,  I  found  he  had  sent  an  express  by  land  to  Lex- 
ulgton  —  a  Mr.  William  Dawes.  The  Sunday  before,  by 
desire  of  Dr.  Warren,  I  had  been  to  Lexington,  to  Messrs. 
Hancock  and  Adams,  who  were  at  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark's.  I 
returned  at  night  through  Charlestown;  there  I  agreed  with 
a  Colonel  Conant,  and  some  other  gentlemen,  that  if  the 
British  went  out  by  water,  we  would  shew  two  lanthorns  in 
the  North  Church  steeple;  and  if  by  land  one  as  a  signal;  for 
we  were  apprehensive  it  would  be  difficult  to  cross  the  Charles 
River,  or  get  over  Boston  neck.  I  left  Dr.  Warren,  called 
upon  a  friend,  and  desired  him  to  make  the  signals.  I  then 
went  home,  took  my  boots  and  surtout,  went  to  the  north 
part  of  the  town,  where  I  had  kept  a  boat;  two  friends  rowed 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

me  across  Charles  River,  a  little  to  the  eastward  where  the 
*  Somerset '  man-of-war  lay.  It  was  then  young  flood,  the  ship 
was  winding,  and  the  moon  was  rising.  They  landed  me  on 
the  Charlestown  side.  When  I  got  into  town,  I  met  Colonel 
Conant,  and  several  others;  they  said  they  had  seen  our  sig- 
nals. I  told  them  what  was  acting,  and  went  to  get  me  a  horse. 
I  got  a  horse  of  Deacon  Larkin.  While  the  horse  was  preparing, 
Richard  Devons,  Esq.,  who  was  one  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  came  to  me,  and  told  me,  that  he  came  down  the  road 
from  Lexington,  after  sundown,  that  evening;  that  he  met  ten 
British  officers,  all  well  mounted,  and  armed,  going  up  the  road. 
"  I  set  off  upon  a  very  good  horse;  it  was  then  about  eleven 
o'clock,  and  very  pleasant.  After  I  had  passed  Charlestown 
neck,  and  got  nearly  opposite  where  Mark  was  hung  in  chains, 
I  saw  two  men  on  horseback,  under  a  tree.  When  I  got  near 
them,  I  discovered  they  were  British  officers.  One  tried  to 
get  ahead  of  me,  and  the  other  to  take  me.  I  turned  my  horse 
very  quick,  and  galloped  towards  Charlestown  neck,  and  then 
pushed  for  the  Medford  road.  The  one  who  chased  me,  en- 
deavoring to  cut  me  off,  got  into  a  clay  pond,  near  where  the 
new  tavern  is  now  built.  I  got  clear  of  him,  and  went  through 
Medford,  over  the  bridge,  and  up  to  Menotomy.  In  Medford, 
I  awaked  the  captain  of  the  minutemen;  and  after  that,  I 
alarmed  almost  every  house,  till  I  got  to  Lexington.  I  found 
Messrs.  Hancock  and  Adams  at  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark's;  I  told 
them  my  errand,  and  inquired  for  Mr.  Dawes;  they  said  he 
had  not  been  there.  I  related  the  story  of  the  two  officers,  and 
supposed  that  he  must  have  been  stopped,  as  he  ought  to  have 
been  there  before  me.  After  I  had  been  there  about  half  an 
hour,  Mr.  Dawes  came;  we  refreshed  ourselves,  and  set  off 
for  Concord,  to  secure  the  stores,  etc.,  there.  We  were  over- 
taken by  a  young  Dr.  Prescot,  whom  we  found  to  be  a  high 
son  of  liberty.  I  told  them  of  the  ten  officers  that  Mr.  Devons 
met,  and  that  it  was  probable  we  might  be  stopped  before  we 
got  to  Concord;  for  I  supposed  that  after  night,  they  divided 
themselves,  and  that  two  of  them  had  fixed  themselves  in  such 
passages,  as  were  most  likely  to  stop  any  intelligence  going  to 


INTERCEPTED  BY  THE  BRITISH  179 

Concord.  I  likewise  mentioned,  that  we  had  better  alarm  all 
the  inhabitants  till  we  got  to  Concord;  the  young  Doctor 
much  approved  of  it,  and  said  he  would  stop  with  either  of  us, 
for  the  people  between  that  and  Concord  knew  him,  and 
would  give  the  more  credit  to  what  we  said.  We  had  got 
nearly  halfway:  Mr.  Dawes  and  the  Doctor  stopped  to  alarm 
the  people  of  a  house:  I  was  about  one  hundred  rods  ahead, 
when  I  saw  two  men  in  nearly  the  same  situation  as  those 
officers  were,  near  Charlestown.  I  called  for  the  Doctor  and 
Mr.  Dawes  to  come  up;  in  an  instant  I  was  surrounded  by 
four;  —  they  had  placed  themselves  in  a  straight  road,  that 
inclined  each  way;  they  had  taken  down  a  pair  of  bars  on  the 
north  side  of  the  road,  and  two  of  them  were  under  a  tree  in 
the  pasture.  The  Doctor  being  foremost,  he  came  up;  and 
we  tried  to  get  past  them;  but  they  being  armed  with  pistols 
and  swords,  they  forced  us  into  the  pasture;  —  the  Doctor 
jumped  his  horse  over  a  low  stone  wall,  and  got  to  Concord. 
I  observed  a  wood  at  a  small  distance,  and  made  for  that. 
When  I  got  there,  out  started  six  officers,  on  horseback,  and 
ordered  me  to  dismount;  —  one  of  them  who  appeared  to  have 
the  command,  examined  me,  where  I  came  from,  and  what  my 
name  was?  I  told  him.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  an  express? 
I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  He  demanded  what  time  I  left 
Boston?  I  told  him,  and  that  I  had  alarmed  the  country  all 
the  way  up.  He  immediately  rode  towards  those  who  stopped 
us,  when  all  five  of  them  came  down  upon  a  full  gallop;  one 
of  them,  whom  I  afterwards  found  to  be  a  Major  Mitchel,  of 
the  5th  regiment,  clapped  his  pistol  to  my  head,  called  me 
by  name,  and  told  me  he  was  going  to  ask  me  some  questions, 
and  if  I  did  not  give  him  true  answers,  he  would  blow  my 
brains  out.  He  then  asked  me  similar  questions  to  those 
above.  He  then  ordered  me  to  mount  my  horse,  after  searching 
me  for  arms.  He  then  ordered  them  to  advance  and  to  lead 
me  in  front.  When  we  got  to  the  road,  they  turned  down 
towards  Lexington.  When  we  had  got  about  one  mile,  the 
major  rode  up  to  the  officer  that  was  leading  me,  and  told  him 
to  give  me  to  the  sergeant.  As  soon  as  he  took  me,  the  major 


180  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ordered  him,  if  I  attempted  to  run,  or  anybody  insulted  them, 
to  blow  my  brains  out.  We  rode  till  we  got  near  Lexington 
meetinghouse,  when  the  militia  fired  a  volley  of  guns,  which 
appeared  to  alarm  them  very  much.  The  major  inquired  of 
me  how  far  it  was  to  Cambridge,  and  if  there  were  any  other 
road?  After  some  consultation,  the  major  rode  up  to  the  ser- 
geant, and  asked  if  his  horse  was  tired?  He  answered  him,  he 
was  —  (He  was  a  sergeant  of  grenadiers,  and  had  a  small 
horse)  — '  Then,'  said  he,  *  take  that  man's  horse.'  I  dis- 
mounted, and  the  sergeant  mounted  my  horse,  when  they  all 
rode  towards  Lexington  meetinghouse.  I  went  across  the  bury- 
ing ground,  and  some  pastures,  and  came  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Clark's  house,  where  I  found  Messrs.  Hancock  and  Adams.  I 
told  them  of  my  treatment,  and  they  concluded  to  go  from  that 
house  towards  Woburn.  I  went  with  them,  and  a  Mr.  Lowell, 
who  was  a  clerk  to  Mr.  Hancock.  When  we  got  to  the  house 
where  they  intended  to  stop,  Mr.  Lowell  and  myself  returned  to 
Mr.  Clark's,  to  find  what  was  going  on.  When  we  got  there,  an 
elderly  man  came  in;  he  said  he  had  just  come  from  the  tavern, 
that  a  man  had  come  from  Boston,  who  said  there  were  no 
British  troops  coming.  Mr.  Lowell  and  myself  went  towards 
the  tavern,  when  we  met  a  man  on  a  full  gallop,  who  told  us 
the  troops  were  coming  up  the  rocks.  We  afterwards  met 
another,  who  said  they  were  close  by.  Mr.  Lowell  asked  me 
to  go  to  the  tavern  with  him,  to  get  a  trunk  of  papers  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Hancock.  We  went  up  chamber;  and  while  we  were 
getting  the  trunk,  we  saw  the  British  very  near,  upon  a  full 
march.  We  hurried  towards  Mr.  Clark's  house.  In  our  way, 
we  passed  through  the  militia.  There  were  about  fifty.  When 
we  had  got  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  meetinghouse, 
the  British  troops  appeared  on  both  sides  of  the  meetinghouse. 
In  their  front  was  an  officer  on  horseback.  They  made  a  short 
halt;  when  I  saw,  and  heard,  a  gun  fired,  which  appeared  to  be 
a  pistol.  Then  I  could  distinguish  two  guns,  and  then  a  con- 
tinual roar  of  musketry;  when  we  made  off  with  the  trunk." 

"After  the  British  evacuated  Boston,"  says  the  writer  of  the 
memoir  in  the  "  New  England  Magazine,"  "a  regiment  of  artil- 


"THE  RESCINDERS" 

FROM    THE    ENGRAVING    BY    PAUL    REVERE 


REVERE  A  GOOD  MECHANIC  181 

lery  was  raised  for  the  defence  of  the  State.  In  this  regiment  he 
was  appointed  a  major,  and  afterwards  a  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  remained  in  the  service  until  the  peace.  During  all  this 
period,  he  might  be  said  to  hold  the  sword  in  one  hand,  and 
the  implements  of  mechanical  trades  in  the  other,  and  all  of 
them  subservient  to  the  great  cause  of  American  liberty. 
Whenever  anything  new  or  ingenious  in  the  mechanical  line 
was  wanted  for  the  public  good,  he  was  looked  to  for  the  con- 
summation of  the  design.  When  the  British  left  Boston  they 
broke  the  trunnions  of  the  cannon  at  Castle  William  (Fort 
Independence),  and  Washington  called  on  Revere  to  render 
them  useful  —  in  which  he  succeeded  by  means  of  a  newly 
contrived  carriage. 

"After  the  peace  he  resumed  his  business  as  a  goldsmith. 
Subsequently  he  erected  an  air  furnace,  in  which  he  cast 
church  bells  and  brass  cannon.  Soon  after  this  time  a  new 
era  commenced  hi  shipbuilding.  Hitherto  all  vessels  had  been 
fastened  with  iron.  It  was  found  that  copper  sheathing,  which 
preserved  the  bottoms  of  vessels  from  worms,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years  destroyed  the  iron  bolts  and  spikes;  and  copper 
bolts  and  spikes  were  at  length  substituted  for  iron.  This 
engaged  his  attention,  and  after  repeated  trials  he  succeeded 
in  manufacturing  the  article  to  his  satisfaction.  He  then 
erected  extensive  works  at  Canton,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk, 
about  sixteen  miles  from  Boston,  for  the  rolling  of  copper  as 
well  as  for  the  casting  of  brass  guns  and  bells,  which  business 
is  still  continued  by  his  successors  —  an  incorporated  company 
bearing  his  name." 

Colonel  Revere  was  the  first  President  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Charitable  Mechanic  Association,  which  was  instituted 
in  1795  —  a  society,  which  has  embraced  the  principal  me- 
chanics of  all  professions  in  Boston,  and  which  is  prominent 
among  the  variety  of  benevolent  and  useful  institutions  which 
dignify  and  embellish  the  metropolis  of  Massachusetts.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  connected  with  many  other  philan- 
thropic associations,  in  all  of  which  he  was  a  munificent  and 
useful  member.  By  an  uncommonly  long  life  of  industry  and 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

economy,  he  had  been  able  to  obtain  a  competency  in  the  way 
of  property,  and  to  educate  a  large  family  of  children,  many  of 
whom  are  living  to  participate  in  one  of  the  purest  and  most 
affectionate  gratifications  that  a  child  can  enjoy — the  contempla- 
tion of  the  character  of  an  upright,  patriotic  and  virtuous  father. 
For  our  notice  of 

AMOS   DOOLITTLE 

We  are  principally  indebted  to  Barber's  "History  and  Antiqui- 
ties of  New  Haven,"  published  in  1831.  We  remember  some  of 
the  works  of  Mr.  Doolittle  from  the  year  1777,  but  to  Mr.  Bar- 
ber's book  we  are  indebted  for  the  following  advertisement 
and  note. 

"This  day  published,  and  to  be  sold  at  the  store  of  Mr. 
James  Lockwood,  near  the  College  in  New  Haven,  Four  differ- 
ent views  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Concord,  &c.,  on  the 
19th  April,  1775. 

"Plate     I.     The  Battle  at  Lexington. 

Plate     II.  A  view  of  the  town  of  Concord,  with  the  minister- 
ial troops  destroying  the  stores. 

Plate     III.  The  battle  at  the  North  bridge,  in  Concord. 
Plate     IV.  The    south   part  of  Lexington   where   the   first 

detachment  were  joined  by  Lord  Percy. 
"The  above  four  Plates  are  neatly  engraven  on  Copper,  from 
original  paintings  taken  on  the  spot. 

"Price  six  shillings  per  set  for  the  plain  ones,  of  "  (sic)  "eight 
shillings  coloured.  Dec.  13th,  1775. 

"Note. — The  above  Prints  were  drawn  by  Mr.  Earl,  a  por- 
trait painter,  and  engraved  by  Mr.  Amos  Doolittle.  Mr.  Earl 
and  Mr.  Doolittle  were  both  members  of  the  Governor's  Guard, 
who  went  on  to  Cambridge,  and  the  scene  of  action  soon 
after  it  took  place.  It  is  believed  that  these  prints  are  the 
first  historical  engravings  ever  executed  in  America.*  Mr. 

*  It  will  be  seen  by  the  preceding  biography,  that  Paid  Revere  designed  and  pub- 
lished historical  subjects  before  him.  If  Mr.  Earl  painted  these  subjects,  as  is  expressly 
said  in  Mr.  Doolittle's  advertisement,  where  the  phrase  "original  paintings"  is  used, 
we  must  consider  Mr.  Earl  as  our  first  historical  painter  in  point  of  time.  Revere, 
though  he  designed  his  picture  of  the  Massacre,  was  not  a  painter.  (This  is  an  error; 
see  note  on  p.  176.) 


EARLIEST  REVOLUTIONARY  PRINTS  183 

Doolittle  is  living  and  still  pursues  the  business  of  engraving 
in  this  place,  and  from  him  the  above  information  is  obtained; 
he  also  was  in  the  engagement  with  the  British  troops  at  the 
time  they  entered  New  Haven."  l 

In  another  page  we  find  it  stated  that  Mr.  Doolittle,  having 
returned  from  the  scene  of  action  at  Hotchkisstown,  to  attend 
to  a  sick  wife,  threw  his  musket  under  the  bed,  and  awaited  the 
arrival  of  the  enemy.  Fortunately  for  him  he  had  a  guest  in 
an  English  lady,  who,  when  the  British  troops  arrived,  stepped 
out  and  asked  a  guard  for  the  protection  of  the  house,  assert- 
ing that  she  was  an  Englishwoman,  and  had  a  son  in  the  British 
army.  The  guard  was  granted;  and  when  the  musket  was 
discovered,  the  same  protectress  said  that  every  man  was 
obliged  by  law  to  have  arms  in  his  house,  but  Mr.  Doolittle 
was  a  friend  of  King  George.  This  saved  him  from  the  prison 
ships  of  New  York. 

In  an  addition  to  Mr.  Barber's  work  it  is  stated  that  Mr. 
Doolittle  died  January  31,  1832,  aged  78  years.  There  is  an 
engraving  (copied  from  one  18  inches  by  12,  which  was  exe- 
cuted by  Mr.  Amos  Doolittle  of  New  Haven,  in  1775),  show- 
ing the  town  of  Lexington  and  the  English  troops  commanded 
by  Major  Pitcairn,  firing  on  the  militia.  "This  print  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  first  regular  historical  print  ever  published  in 

1  These  titles  differ  from  the  inscriptions  on  the  prints,  which  are  as  follows: 

The  Battle  of  Lexington.  April  19th  1775.  Plate  I/  A.  Doolittle  Sculp*/  (in  two 
columns),  1.  Major  Pitcarn  at  the  head  of  the  Regular  Granadiers.  2.  The  Party 
who  first  fired  at  the  Provincials  at  Lexington.  3.  Part  of  the  Provincial  Company  of 
Lexington./  4-  Regular  Companies  on  the  road  to  Concord/  5.  The  Metinghouse  at 
Lexington/  6.  The  Public  Inn. 

Plate  II.  A  View  of  the  Town  of  Concord/  A.  Doolittle  Sculp*/  (in  two  columns), 
1.  Companies  of  the  Regulars  marching  into  Concord/  2.  Companies  of  Regulars  drawn 
up  in  order/  3.  A  Detachment  destroying  the  Provincials  Stores/  4  &  5.  Colonel  Smith 
&  Major  Pitcairn  viewing  the  Provincials/  who  were  mustering  on  East  Hill  in  Concord/ 
6.  The  Townhouse.  7.  The  Meeting  house 

Plate  HI.  The  Engagement  at  the  North  Bridge  in  Concord/  A.  Doolittle  Sculp1/ 
(in  two  columns),  1  The  Detachment  of  the  Regulars  who  fired  first/  on  the  Provincials 
at  the  Bridge/  2.  The  Provincials  headed  by  Colonel  Robinson  &/  Major  Buttrick./  S 
The  Bridge 

Plate  IV.  A  View  of  the  South  Part  of  Lexington/  A.  Doolittle  Sculp*/  (in  two 
columns),  1  Colonel  Smith's  Brigade  retreating  before  the  Provincials/  2.  Earl 
Piercy's  Brigade  meeting  them/  3  &  4  Earl  Piercy  &  Col.  Smith,  5  Provincials/ 
6  &  7  The  Flanck-guards  of  Piercy' s  Brigade/  8  A  Fieldpiece  pointed  at  the  Lexing- 
ton Meeting-house/  9.  The  Burning  of  the  Houses  in  Lexington 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

America."  This  we  have  shown  to  be  a  mistake.  "Mr.  Doo- 
little's  engraving  was  copied  from  a  drawing  by  Mr.  Earl,  a 
portrait  painter."  "Mr.  Earl's  drawing  was  taken  on  the  spot. 
The  engraving  was  Mr.  Doolittle's  first  attempt  at  the  art," 
which  he  pursued  for  more  than  half  a  century.  l 


JAMES 

Originally  a  gun  engraver,  and  employed  in  the  tower  of 
London,  came  to  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1773.  He  undertook 
all  kinds  of  engraving,  and  probably  stood  high  in  public 
opinion;  he  was  the  best,  for  he  stood  alone.  To  him  we  may 
owe  the  caricatures  of  the  times,  some  of  the  wits  of  the  day 
assisting  in  the  designs.  He  engraved  the  blocks  for  the  conti- 
nental money,  and  afterwards  imitated  them  for  the  British. 
How  great  must  have  been  his  love  of  his  native  country!  He 
engraved  a  large  ground  plan  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on 
three  plates,  which  Lawson  says,  "I  bought  for  thirty  dollars, 
when  copper  was  scarce,  and  cut  them  up  for  small  plates." 
He  was  the  master  of  Trenchard. 

JENNINGS 

Is  the  name  of  an  engraver,  who  is  supposed  to  have  come  from 
England  about  the  beginning  of  the  insurrectionary  move- 
ments in  Boston,  and  retired  again  immediately  to  be  out  of 
the  way  of  trouble.  All  we  know  of  him,  is  from  our  friend 
Buckingham,  who  says  he  engraved  a  head  of  Nathaniel  Hurd, 
from  a  likeness  painted  by  Copley.  It  was  in  mezzotinto. 

1  In  the  third  edition  of  Barber's  book  (1870)  is  the  following  additional  note: 
"According  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  Doolittle,  he  acted  as  a  kind  of  model  for  Mr. 
Earl  to  make  his  drawings,  so  that  when  he  wished  to  represent  one  of  the  Provincials 
as  loading  his  gun,  crouching  behind  a  stone  wall  when  firing  on  the  enemy,  he  would 
require  Mr.  D.  to  put  himself  in  such  a  position.  Although  rude,  these  engravings 
appear  to  have  made  quite  a  sensation;  particularly  the  battle  of  Lexington,  where 
eight  of  the  Provincials  are  represented  as  shot  down,  with  the  blood  pouring  from 
their  wounds." 

1  James  Smither.  His  advertisement  as  engraver  appeared  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Journal  of  April  21,  1768.  According  to  Stauffer  he  engraved  currency  plates  for  the 
province  of  Pennsylvania,  counterfeited  them  for  the  British  during  their  occupancy  of 
Philadelphia  and  afterwards  removed  to  New  York  while  under  a  charge  of  treason. 


THE  REV.  JONATHAN  MAYHEW,  D.D. 
1720-1766 

FROM  THE  MEZZOTINT  BT  RlCHARD  JENNYS,  JR. 


THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  MEZZOTINT  185 

Probably  the  first  mezzotinto  scraped  in  America.  While  in 
this  country  he  resided  altogether  in  Boston.1 

HENRY  DAWKiNS2 

Was  the  first  engraver  I  find  noticed  as  working  in  New  York, 
and  he  was  probably  from  England.  Originally  an  ornamenter 
of  buttons,  and  other  metallic  substances.  On  his  arrival  in 
America,  he  worked  at  anything  that  offered,  suiting  himself 
to  the  poverty  of  the  arts  at  the  time. 

My  friend  Alexander  Anderson,  the  first  who  attempted 
engraving  on  wood  in  America,  and  who  had,  in  fact,  to  invent 
the  art  for  himself,  tells  me  that  he  has  seen  ornamented  shop 
bills,  and  coats  of  arms  for  books,  engraved  by  Dawkins  pre- 
vious to  1775.  Mr.  Anderson  adds,  "engravings  for  letter 
press,  had  been  executed  on  type  metal  in  various  parts  of  this 
country,  long  before  the  Revolution.  Dr.  Franklin,  if  I  recol- 
lect aright,  cut  the  ornaments  for  his  'Poor  Richard'  almanacs 
in  this  way."  I  cannot  venture,  however,  to  include  Benjamin 
Franklin  among  American  engravers.  That  Dawkins  would 
think  himself  skilful  enough  to  engrave  portraits  for  the 
colonists  I  do  not  doubt. 

He  is  probably  the  engraver  of  a  very  poor  portrait  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Ogilvie,  deposited  by  G.  C.  Verplanck,  Esq.,  with 
the  Historical  Society  of  New  York. 

1  Richard  Jennys,  Jr.   His  father  was  a  notary  and  used  a  seal  with  the  arms  of 
the  Jenney  family.  He  died  aged  53  in  1768  and  was  buried  in  King's  Chapel.  The  son, 
Richard  Jennys,  Jr.,  was  a  portrait  painter  as  well  as  an  engraver,  the  mezzotint 
portrait  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  of  which  a  copy  is  given  in  this  volume,  being 
signed,  "Richd  Jennys  Junr  pinx1  &  Fecit,"  and  the  name  Jennys  also  appears  as  artist 
on  a  portrait  of  JEneas  Munson,  M.D.,  in  the  Yale  Medical  School. 

No  example  of  the  mezzotint  of  Kurd  is  now  known.  Copley  made  two  portraits 
of  Hurd.  One  of  them,  lithographed  by  Pendleton  after  the  Jennys  mezzotint  appeared 
in  The  New  England  Magazine  for  July,  1832.  The  other  is  reproduced  here. 
Peter  Pelham's  engraving  of  Rev.  Cotton  Mather  in  1727  is  the  earliest  American 
mezzotint  portrait. 

Besides  following  the  profession  of  portrait  painting,  Jennys  was  a  dealer  in  dry 
goods,  as  appears  by  his  advertisement  in  the  Independent  Chronicle,  S  September, 
1777.  He  was  still  in  Boston  in  1783,  but  we  find  no  record  of  him  after  that  year. 

2  Dawkins  was  arrested  in  1776  for  counterfeiting  Continental  currency,  but  beyond 
his  confession  at  trial,  nothing  further  is  known  of  him.  He  advertised  himself  as  an 
engraver  in  New  York  as  early  as  1755. 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ABRAHAM  GODWIN 

This  gentleman,  now  seventy-one  years  of  age,  was  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  and  is  now  a  general  of  the  militia  of  his 
native  State,  New  Jersey.  After  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
having  always  a  propensity  to  drawing,  he  devoted  himself  to 
the  arts,  by  choosing  the  profession  of  an  engraver.  Long 
retired  to  his  native  village,  his  painting  and  engraving  has 
been  for  amusement,  and  in  his  old  age,  he  enjoys  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  that  town,  of  which 
his  father  had  in  youth  been  one  of  the  earliest  settlers;  now  a 
flourishing  as  well  as  extremely  interesting  place  —  Paterson. 

Mr.  Godwin's  grandfather  was  an  Englishman,  and  settled 
in  New  Jersey,  where  the  father  of  the  engraver  was  born  in 
1724;  in  manhood  he  took  up  his  residence  at  the  falls  of  the 
Passaic;  since  (in  1793)  called  Paterson;  and  there  Abraham 
Godwin  was  born  in  July,  1763,  and  received  the  same  bap- 
tismal name  as  his  parent,  who  in  his  old  age  engaged  actively 
in  the  cause  of  his  country's  liberty. 

Mr.  Godwin  was  destined  for  the  law;  and  in  1776  was 
placed  with  his  brother,  an  attorney  at  Fishkill,  in  the  state  of 
New  York.  The  lawyer,  however,  entered  the  army;  and  his 
pupil,  as  soon  as  possible,  followed  his  example. 

Having  when  quite  a  youth  seen  the  operation  of  engraving 
he  was  so  delighted  with  it,  that  he  procured  a  rude  graver,  by 
aid  of  a  blacksmith,  and  made  the  first  essays  on  the  silver 
plate  of  his  friends. 

The  war  being  over,  he  married,  and  then  gave  his  bond 
to  a  person  of  the  name  of  Billings  for  two  months'  instruc- 
tion in  engraving,  but  soon  found  that  he  could  use  the 
graver  better  than  his  master,  who  did  not  deserve  the  name 
of  engraver. 

Mr.  Godwin  was  employed  in  engraving  the  decorations  of 
certificates  for  various  societies,  and  some  of  the  plates  for 
Brown's  Family  Bible,  published  by  Hodge,  Allen,  and  Camp- 
bell, in  New  York. 

Retired  to  his  native  place,  Mr.  Godwin  has  served  as  cap- 
tain, judge-advocate,  major,  colonel,  and  lastly,  brigadier- 


ENGRAVER  OF  WASHINGTON'S  BUTTONS         187 

general  of  militia,  which  office  he  fills  in  a  green  old  age,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  his  countrymen. 

PETER  R.  MAVERICK* 

Was  originally  a  silversmith.  He  is  sometimes  called  Peter 
Maverick  the  first,  as  his  son  and  grandson,  both  named  Peter, 
have  followed  his  profession.  He  etched  and  engraved  for  many 
years  in  New  York.  In  1787-8,  he  taught  me  the  theory  and 
practice  of  etching,  and  in  his  workshop  I  etched  a  frontispiece 
for  a  dramatic  trifle  then  published.  He  had  his  press  in  his 
workshop.  The  plates  in  the  Bible  above  mentioned  are 
the  best  specimens  of  his  art;  but,  by  being  the  teacher  of  his 
son  Peter,  and  of  Francis  Kearney,  he  aided  materially  in  the 
progress  of  American  engraving. 

WILLIAM  ROLLINSON. 

This  worthy  man,  and  very  estimable  citizen  is  a  native  of 
England,  born  in  the  year  1760. 2  He  was  in  youth  brought 
up  to  the  business  of  chaser  of  fancy  buttons,  and  came  to  New 
York  with  a  view  of  pursuing  the  same,  but  soon  found  that 
little  or  nothing  of  the  kind  was  practised  or  sought  after  here. 
He  had,  not  long  after  his  arrival,  some  work  in  the  way  of  his 
original  employment,  the  remembrance  of  which  gratifies  the 
sturdy  old  gentleman  to  this  day.  General  Knox,  first  secre- 
tary of  war,  under  the  Federal  Government,  employed  Mr. 
Rollinson  to  chase  the  arms  of  the  United  States  upon  a  set  of 
gilt  buttons  for  the  coat  which  was  worn  by  General  Washing- 
ton, on  the  memorable  day  of  his  inauguration  as  president. 

Soon  after,  General  Knox  called  to  make  payment,  but  the 
young  Englishman  had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  country  of  his 

1  Peter  Rushton  Maverick,  according  to  a  notice  in  the  Newark  Centinal  of  Freedom 
of  1811,  was  born  in  this  country  April  11,  1755,  and  died  in  New  York  December  12, 
1811.  Simmer  (History  of  East  Boston)  says  that  "He  was  a  freethinker  and  a 
friend  of  Thomas  Paine."  Fielding  states  that  his  father  was  Andrew  Maverick  of 
Boston,  who  came  to  New  York  and  was  admitted  a  freeman  July  17,  1753.  He  had 
three  sons,  Samuel,  Andrew  and  Peter.  Andrew  became  interested  in  the  publication 
of  prints.  Samuel  and  Peter  following  the  example  of  their  father  became  engravers. 

1  He  was  born  in  England  in  1762  and  died  in  New  York  in  1842. 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

choice,  and  would  receive  no  compensation;  declaring  that  he 
was  more  than  paid  by  having  had  the  honor  of  working  for 
such  a  man  on  such  an  occasion.  Shortly  after,  the  chiefs  of 
the  Creek  Indians,  with  McGillivray  at  their  head,  arrived  at 
New  York,  then  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  silver 
armbands,  and  medals  were  required  for  these  sons  of  the 
forest,  as  presents  from  the  United  States.  These  decorations 
required  ornamenting,  and  General  Knox  remunerated  the 
button-chaser,  by  giving  him  many  of  them  to  engrave. 

Mr.  Rollinson  found  employment  in  working  for  silversmiths, 
until  1791,  when  he  made  his  first  attempt  at  copperplate 
engraving,  without  any  previous  knowledge  of  the  profession, 
or  having  even  seen  an  engraver  at  work.  This  essay  was  a 
small  profile  portrait  of  General  Washington  done  in  the 
stippling  manner. 

Through  the  friendship  of  Messrs.  Elias  Hicks  and  John  C. 
Ludlow,  Mr.  Rollinson  was  recommended  to  the  publishers  of 
Brown's  Family  Bible,  mentioned  above,  for  which  work  he  en- 
graved several  plates,  and  found  employment  with  the  few  book 
publishers  of  that  day.  This  practice  had  given  Mr.  Rollin- 
son facility  with  the  graver,  and  about  this  time,  i.e.,  1800, 
Mr.  Archibald  Robertson  having  painted  a  portrait  of  General 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Mr.  Rollinson  boldly  undertook  an  en- 
graving from  it,  18  inches  by  14;  he  had  no  knowledge  of 
rebiting  and  other  processes  used  by  those  brought  up  to  the 
profession,  but  had  perseverance  and  ingenuity  to  surmount  all 
difficulties,  and  finally  invented  a  method  of  making  a  back- 
ground by  means  of  a  roulette  inserted  in  a  ruling  machine. 
When  he  commenced  this  engraving,  it  was  intended  to  be 
done  at  leisure  hours,  and  for  practice,  but  when  the  plate  was 
about  half  done,  General  Hamilton  lost  his  life  in  a  duel  with 
Colonel  Burr.  The  friends  of  Hamilton  were  solicitous  for  a 
print  of  him,  and  the  engraver  was  urged  to  finish  the  plate 
with  all  expedition.  An  impression  being  taken  from  the 
engraving  in  its  unfinished  state,  and  the  likeness  acknowl- 
edged, the  work  was  completed,  and  published  by  Messrs. 
Rollinson  and  Robertson,  in  1805,  and  met  with  a  good  sale. 


BANK-NOTE  ENGRAVING  189 

In  1812,  Mr.  Rollinson  invented  a  machine  to  rule  waved 
lines,  for  engraving  margins  to  bank  notes.  Mr.  W.  S.  Leney, 
an  English  artist  from  London  (a  good  stipple  engraver),  joined 
Mr.  Rollinson  in  producing  a  specimen  note,  which  being 
approved,  produced  many  orders  from  different  parts  of  the 
United  States.  This  invention  of  Mr.  Rollinson  was  a  great 
improvement  in  bank-note  engraving,  and  caused  a  great 
sensation  among  engravers  at  the  time.  Mr.  Rollinson,  now 
in  the  74th  year  o|  his  age  is  full  of  life  and  strength,  and  con- 
tinues to  work  with  unabated  ardor  and  improved  skill.  In 
the  70th  year  of  his  age,  he  executed  a  vignette  for  the  Messrs. 
Carvils,  for  an  edition  of  Horace,  by  Professor  Anthon,  which 
is  a  proof  of  increasing  knowledge  in  the  art  he  professes.  At 
the  age  of  74,  his  portrait  has  been  painted  by  Mr.  Agate,  an 
excellent  likeness,  which  might  indicate  a  man  of  fifty. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  THREE  PARISSIENS  —  KILBRUNN  —  DELANOY  —  STUART. 

PARISSIENS. 

I  REMEMBER  well  three  generations  of  Parissiens  or  Parisans, 
all  professing  to  be  painters,  and  all  residing  in  New  York. 
The  first  came  from  France,  and  was  literally,  as  seen  by  me, 
"a  little  old  Frenchman."1  This  was  Otto  Parissien,  or  Pa- 
rissien  the  first.  The  phrase  "little  old  Frenchman"  is  so 
common  in  English  books,  that  we  of  America  naturalize  it, 
with  a  thousand  prejudices  derived  from  the  same  source.  But 
Parissien  the  first  was  a  model  of  the  idea.  He  was  a  silver- 
smith, and  kept  a  shop  of  that  precious  ware;  he  worked 
ornaments  in  hair;  and  he  made  monstrous  miniature  pictures. 
Genius  is  hereditary,  let  democrats  say  what  they  will,  at  least 
the  genius  of  mediocrity  —  and  yet  the  three  Parissiens  im- 
proved in  regular  gradation  on  the  soil  of  America.  The  son 
of  the  "little  old  Frenchman"  became  an  American  almost  of 
ordinary  size,  and  painted  miniatures  with  a  little  resemblance 
to  human  nature,  at  the  same  time  working  in  hair  and  silver. 
This  was  Parissien  the  second.  He  died,  as  is  the  custom 
in  all  countries,  and  was  succeeded  by  Parissien  the  third, 
who  arrived  at  the  full  height  of  ordinary  Americans,  and  re- 
nouncing the  hair  work  and  the  silver  teapots  and  milk  jugs, 
devoted  himself  to  drawing  and  painting;  but  notwithstanding 
that  he  attained  to  cleverness  in  drawing  with  chalks,  his 
painting,  though  beyond  comparison  better  than  his  predeces- 
sors', still  bore  the  family  likeness.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to 

1  There  are  two  errors  on  this  page.  Otto  Parissiens  was  a  native  of  Prussia  instead 
of  France,  and  he  did  not  paint  miniatures.  He  designed  the  ornaments  of  the  silver- 
ware he  dealt  in,  being  a  silversmith. 

190 


END  OF  THE  PABISSIEN  FAMILY  191 

paint  a  full  length  of  my  old  friend  Dr.  Mitchill,  which  was 
exhibited  in  the  gallery  of  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts 
in  the  old  almshouse,  and  it  was  generally  admired  for  its 
rigid  portliness  and  inveterate  pertinapity  of  attitude.  But 
the  hereditary  propensity  to  mingle  employments  descended 
to  Parissien  the  third,  with  the  hereditary  mediocrity  of  the 
family.  He  mixed  the  business  of  money  broker  with  his 
painting,  and  both  failed.  He  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  the 
race  of  Parissiens  became  extinct. 

L.  KILBRUNN. 

Who  this  gentleman  was,  I  know  not,1  but  presume  he  was 
from  England.  He  painted  portraits  in  New  York  in  1761, 
although  I  place  him  later,  as  supposing  he  may  have  continued 
to  1772. 

In  the  family  mansion  of  James  Beekman,  Esq.,  among  many 
portraits  of  his  ancestors,  are  two  by  L.  Kilbrunn,  dated  1761, 
half  lengths,  size  of  life,  one  of  Dr.  William  Beekman,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Ley  den,  and  who  practised  physic,  in  New  York;  the 
other  of  his  wife.  The  Doctor's  head  is  well  painted,  full  of 
nature,  the  colors  softened  skilfully,  and  the  picture  in  good 
preservation;  the  other  has  merit,  but  is  not  so  good  —  all 
the  hands  are  bad.  I  owe  the  discovery  of  this  artist  to  my 
friend  Doctor  Francis. 

ABRAHAM  DELANOY,  JUN. 

Born  in  New  York,  probably  in  1740.2  He  visited  England 
about  1766,  and  was  instructed  for  a  short  time  by  B.  West. 
Mr.  DePeyster,  son  in  law  of  Mr.  John  Beekman,  has  a  head 

1  Lawrence  Kilburn,  sometimes  written  Killbrunn,  arrived  from  London  in  the 
early  part  of  May,  1754,  and  according  to  an  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Gazette 
of  July  8,  1754,  was  soliciting  business.    His  advertisement  appears  at  intervals  in 
different  New  York  newspapers  to  1772.   He  died  in  New  York  in  1775. 

2  Abraham  De  Launy,  Jr.,  was  probably  the  son  of  Abraham  De  Launy  celebrated 
in  New  York  City  as  a  dealer  in  pickled  oysters,  but  the  date  of  his  birth  is  not  known. 
An  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Gazette  and  the  Weekly  Mercury,  by  A.  De  Launy, 
Jr.,  January  7,  1771,  states  that  he  has  been  "taught  by  the  celebrated  Mr.  West,  in 
London."  The  exact  date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  The  spelling  of  his  name  has  been 
corrected  in  subsequent  references. 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  West,  painted  by  Delanoy  at  this  period;  it  is  marked, 
"Portrait  of  Benjamin  West,  the  celebrated  limner  of  Phila- 
delphia, painted  by  his  friend  Abraham  Delanoy,  junior, 
limner."  Mr.  John  Beekman  has  several  family  portraits 
painted  by  Delanoy,  in  1767:  and  Mr.  James  Beekman  others, 
executed  near  the  same  period.  —  I  remember  Delanoy  from 
1780  to  1783,  in  "the  sear  and  yellow  leaf"  both  of  life  and 
fortune.  He  was  consumptive,  poor,  and  his  only  employment 
sign  painting.  He  told  me  of  his  visit  to  London,  and  showed  a 
picture  he  then  copied  from  one  of  Mr.  West's,  it  was  "Cupid 
complaining  to  his  mother  of  a  sting  from  a  bee."  I  saw  then 
his  own  portrait,  and  those  of  his  wife  and  children,  by  himself. 
I  painted  a  likeness  of  Admiral  Hood,  from  recollection,  for 
him  on  a  sign  —  my  first  production  in  oil. 

Delanoy  was  a  man  of  mild  manners,  awkward  address,  and 
unprepossessing  appearance.  I  presume  he  died  about  1786. 

GILBERT  C.  STUART. 

Having  arrived  at  that  period  which  is  made  memorable  in 
the  history  of  American  arts,  by  the  commencement  of  the 
career  in  portrait  painting  of  one  who  has  yet  no  rival,  we, 
in  accordance  with  our  plan,  give  here  a  biographical  notice  of 
Gilbert  Charles  Stuart,  born  in  1755.1 

As  Mr.  Stuart  dropped  the  middle  name  of  "Charles,"  we 
will  give  our  reasons  for  restoring  it  to  him.  He  was  thus 
baptized,  and  it  marks  the  attachment  of  his  father  to  the 
worthless  dynasty  so  long  adhered  to  by  the  Scotch.  He  bore 
the  three  names  until  after  manhood.  Dr.  Waterhouse,  his 
friend  and  schoolfellow,  in  a  letter  before  us,  dated  27th  of  May, 
1833,  says,  "I  have  cut  from  one  of  Stuart's  letters  his  signa- 
ture of  G.  C.  Stuart,  i.e.;  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart.  I  have  some 
doubt  whether  his  widow  and  children  ever  knew  that  he  had 
the  middle  name  of  Charles."  When  writing  his  name  on  his 
own  portrait,  in  1778,  he  omitted  the  "C."  The  inscription  is 
"G.  Stuart,  Pictor,  se  ipso  pinxit,  A.  D.  1778,  setatis  sua  24." 

1  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart,  the  son  of  Gilbert  and  Elisabeth  Anthony  Stuart,  was 
born  near  North  Kingston,  R.  I.,  December  3,  1755. 


GILBERT  STUART 
1755-1828 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  the  Redwood  Library,  Newport,  R.  I. 


VILE   PRACTICE  OF  SNUFF-TAKING  193 

His  name  was  frequently  written  and  printed  "Stewart"; 
and  Heath,  on  the  pirated  engraving  from  the  artist's  cele- 
brated portrait  of  Washington,  calls  him  "Gabriel."  Stuart 
jestingly  said,  "men  will  make  an  angel  of  me  in  spite  of  myself." 

The  above  quoted  inscription  from  his  portrait,  is  the  only 
authority  we  have  for  the  time  of  his  birth.  That  fixes  it  in 
1755.  This  picture  is  in  the  possession  of  Doctor  Benjamin 
Waterhouse,  and  is  extremely  valuable  both  as  the  only  por- 
trait he  ever  painted  of  himself,  and  as  a  monument  of  his  early 
skill. 

The  name  of  Stuart  will  long  be  dear  to  those  who  had  the 
pleasure  of  his  intimacy.  His  colloquial  powers  were  of  the 
first  order,  and  made  him  the  delight  of  all  who  were  thrown  in 
his  way;  whether  exercised  to  draw  forth  character  and  ex- 
pression from  his  sitters,  or  in  the  quiet  of  a  tete-a-tete,  or  to 
"set  the  table  in  a  roar,"  while  the  wine  circulated,  as  was 
but  too  much  the  custom  of  the  time  and  the  man. 

Still  dearer  is  the  name  of  Stuart  to  every  American  artist, 
many  of  whom  remember  with  gratitude  the  lessons  derived 
from  his  conversation  and  practice,  and  all  feel  the  influence 
of  that  instruction  which  is  derived  from  studying  his  works. 

Although  our  greatest  portrait  painter  is  but  recently  de- 
ceased, already  the  place  of  his  nativity  is  disputed,  and  con- 
tending towns  claim  the  honor  of  producing  this  extraordinary 
genius;  we  will  relate  his  own  testimony  on  the  subject,  although 
no  man  can  be  a  competent  witness  hi  the  case. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  two  artists  of  Philadelphia 
visited  Mr.  Stuart  at  his  residence  in  Boston.  These  gentle- 
men, Messrs.  Longacre  and  Neagle,  had  made  the  journey  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  seeing  and  deriving  instruction  from  the 
veteran.  While  sitting  with  him  on  one  occasion,  Mr.  Neagle 
asked  him  for  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  his  ample  box,  out  of  which 
he  was  profusely  supplying  his  own  nostrils.  "I  will  give  it  to 
you,"  said  Stuart,  "but  I  advise  you  not  to  take  it.  Snuff -tak- 
ing is  a  pernicious,  vile,  dirty  habit,  and,  like  all  bad  habits, 
to  be  carefully  avoided."  "Your  practice  contradicts  your 
precept,  Mr.  Stuart."  "Sir  /  can't  help  it.  Shall  I  tell  you  a 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

story?  You  were  neither  of  you  ever  in  England  —  so  I  must 
describe  an  English  stagecoach  of  my  time.  It  was  a  large 
vehicle  of  the  coach  kind,  with  a  railing  around  the  top  to 
secure  outside  passengers,  and  a  basket  behind  for  baggage, 
and  such  travellers  as  could  not  be  elsewhere  accommodated. 
In  such  a  carriage,  full  within,  loaded  on  the  top,  and  an  ad- 
ditional unfortunate  stowed  with  the  stuff  in  the  basket,  I  hap- 
pened to  be  travelling  in  a  dark  night,  when  coachee  contrived 
to  overturn  us  all  —  or,  as  they  say  in  New  York,  dump  us  - 
in  a  ditch.  We  scrambled  up,  felt  our  legs  and  arms  to  be  con- 
vinced that  they  were  not  broken,  and  finding,  on  examination, 
that  inside  and  outside  passengers  were  tolerably  whole  (on 
the  whole),  some  one  thought  of  the  poor  devil  who  was  shut 
up  with  the  baggage  in  the  basket.  He  was  found  apparently 
senseless,  and  his  neck  twisted  awry.  One  of  the  passengers, 
who  had  heard  that  any  dislocation  might  be  remedied,  if 
promptly  attended  to,  seized  on  the  corpse,  with  a  determina- 
tion to  untwist  the  man's  neck,  and  set  his  head  straight  on 
his  shoulders.  Accordingly,  with  an  iron  grasp  he  clutched 
him  by  the  head,  and  began  pulling  and  twisting  by  main 
force.  He  appeared  to  have  succeeded  miraculously  in  re- 
storing life;  for  the  dead  man  no  sooner  experienced  the  first 
wrench,  than  he  roared  vociferously,  'Let  me  alone!  let  me 
alone!  I'm  not  hurt!  —  I  was  born  so!'  Gentlemen,"  added 
Stuart,  "I  was  born  so";  and,  taking  an  enormous  pinch  of 
snuff,  "I  was  born  in  a  snuff  mill." 

A  plain  statement,  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  his  friend 
Doctor  Waterhouse,  will  account  for  the  painter's  being  born 
in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  explain  his  assertion  of 
being  born  in  a  snuff  mill. 

Between  the  years  1746  and  '50,  there  came  over  from  Great 
Britain,  to  these  colonies,  a  number  of  Scotch  gentlemen, 
who  had  not  the  appearance  of  what  is  generally  understood 
by  the  term  emigrant,  nor  yet  were  they  merchants  nor  seemed 
to  be  men  of  fortune.  They  came  not  in  companies,  but 
dropped  in  quietly,  one  after  the  other.  Their  unassuming 
appearance,  retired  habits,  bordering  on  the  reserve,  seemed 


SCOTCH  EMIGRANTS  TO  RHODE  ISLAND         195 

to  place  them  above  the  common  class  of  British  travellers. 
Their  mode  of  life  was  snug,  discreet  and  respectable,  yet 
clannish.  Some  settled  in  Philadelphia,  some  in  Perth  Amboy, 
some  in  New  York,  but  a  greater  proportion  sat  down  at  that 
pleasant  and  healthy  spot  Rhode  Island,  called  by  Callender, 
its  first  historiographer,  "The  garden  of  America,"  afterwards 
less  favorably  known  as  the  great  slave  market  for  the  Southern 
colonies. 

We  have  seen,  in  our  notice  of  Smibert,  that  that  this  Gar- 
den of  America  was  the  residence  of  Dean  Berkeley,  the  friend 
of  Oglethorpe,  and  that  there  he  composed  his  "Minute 
Philosopher."  "The  rural  descriptions  which  frequently  occur 
in  it";  the  remark  is  from  G.  C.  Verplanck;  "are,  it  is  said, 
exquisite  pictures  of  those  delightful  landscapes,  which  pre- 
sented themselves  to  his  eye  at  the  time  he  was  writing." 

Several  of  these  Scotch  emigrants  or  visitors,  were  profes- 
sional men;  among  them  was  Dr.  Thomas  Moffat,  a  learned 
physician  of  the  Boerhaavean  school,  but  however  learned,  his 
dress  and  manners  were  so  ill  suited  to  the  plainness,  in  both,  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Rhode  Island,  who  were  principally  Quakers, 
that  he  could  not  make  his  way  among  them  as  a  practitioner, 
and  therefore,  he  looked  round  for  some  other  mode  of  genteel 
subsistence,  and  he  lit  upon  that  of  cultivating  tobacco,  and 
making  snuff,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  great  quantity  that 
was  every  year  imported  from  Glasgow;  but  he  could  find  no 
man  in  the  country  who  he  thought  was  able  to  make  him  a 
snuff  mill.  He  therefore  wrote  to  Scotland  and  obtained  a 
competent  millwright,  by  the  name  of  Gilbert  Stuart. 

Doctor  Moffat  selected  for  his  mill  seat,  a  proper  stream  in 
that  part  of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  plan- 
tations, which  bore  and  still  bears  the  Indian  name  of  Narra- 
ganset,  once  occupied  by  the  warlike  tribe  of  the  Pequots, 
made  familiar  to  us  by  the  intensely  interesting  romance  of 
our  great  novelist,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  under  the  title  of 
"The  last  of  the  Mohegans." 

There  Gilbert  Stuart,  the  father  of  the  great  painter,  erected 
the  first  snuff  mill  in  New  England,  and  manufactured  that 


196  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

strange  article  of  luxury.  He  soon  after  built  a  house  and 
married  a  very  handsome  woman,  daughter  of  a  substantial 
yeoman,  the  cultivator  of  his  own  soil,  by  name  Anthony. 
Of  this  happy  couple  was  born  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart.  The 
middle  name,  indicative  of  the  Jacobite  principles  of  his  father, 
was  early  dropped  by  the  son,  and  never  used  in  his  days  of 
notoriety  —  indeed,  but  for  the  signatures  of  letters  addressed 
by  him  to  his  friend  Waterhouse,  in  youth,  we  should  have  no 
evidence  that  he  ever  bore  more  than  the  famous  name  of 
Gilbert  Stuart.  The  father  of  the  painter  was  remarkable  for 
his  ingenuity,  and  his  quiet,  inoffensive  life.  His  mother  was 
a  well-informed  woman,  and  capable  of  instructing  her  son. 
She  had  three  children:  James,  Ann,  and  Gilbert.  James 
died  when  yet  a  child;  Ann  married,  and  is  the  mother  of 
Gilbert  Stuart  Newton.  . 

Doctor  Benjamin  Waterhouse,  in  a  manuscript  memoir  be- 
fore us,  says,  that  he  "from  several  people  imbibed  the  idea 
that  the  child  Gilbert  betrayed  very  early  signs  of  genius,  and 
the  only  reason  for  doubting  it  is  the  fact  that  his  talents  con- 
tinued bright  over  three  score  years  and  ten:  witness  his  por- 
trait of  the  venerable  President  Adams,  and  that  of  his  son 
John  Quincy  Adams,  late  President  of  these  United  States,  in 
both  of  which  Mr.  Stuart  far  exceeded  any  other  of  his  por- 
traits. Van  Dyck  himself  might  have  been  proud  of  either, 
especially  that  of  the  elder  Adams."  We  continue  to  quote 
from  Dr.  Waterhouse. 

"The  manufactory  of  snuff  from  New  England  tobacco 
succeeded,  and  was  as  good  as  that  imported  from  Glasgow, 
but  the  scheme  for  supplying  the  colonies  with  that  indispens- 
able article  failed,  for  want  of  glass  bottles  to  contain  it;  and 
for  which  the  learned  Doctor  Moffat  substituted  beeves'  blad- 
ders, which  effectually  destroyed  the  business,  and  compelled 
Mr.  Gilbert  Stuart  to  remove  from  Narraganset  to  the  town 
of  Newport,  the  capital  of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island." 

If  this  is  the  origin  of  the  custom  of  packing  snuff  in  blad- 
ders (a  custom,  which,  though  it  did  not  succeed  at  Narra- 
ganset, is  nevertheless  continued  elsewhere  to  the  present 


WATERHOUSE  AND  STUART  197 

time),  our  pages  will  be  valued  hereafter  for  matter  relevant 
to  more  arts  than  those  called  fine;  and  we  may  hope  to  have 
our  name  descending  to  posterity  with  those  of  Waterhouse 
and  Moffat,  preserved  hi  a  bladder  of  New  England  snuff. 

"There,"  continues  the  doctor,  "the  writer  of  this  memoir 
first  became  attached  to  the  schoolboy  Gilbert  Stuart."  The 
Doctor  was  about  the  same  age,  and  says  that  Stuart  was  "a 
very  capable,  self-willed  boy,  who,  perhaps  on  that  account, 
was  indulged  in  everything,  being  an  only  son;  handsome  and 
forward,  and  habituated  at  home  to  have  his  own  way  in 
everything,  with  little  or  no  control  from  the  easy,  good- 
natured  father.  He  was  about  thirteen  years  old  when  he  began 
to  copy  pictures,"  1767,  "and  at  length  attempted  likenesses 
in  black  lead,  in  which  he  succeeded,"  so  far  as  to  discourage 
the  attempts  of  his  schoolfellow,  Waterhouse. 

"About  the  year  1772,"  the  Doctor  proceeds,  "a  Scotch 
gentleman,  named  Cosmo  Alexander,  between  50  and  60  years 
of  age,  arrived  at  Newport;  of  delicate  health  and  prepossessing 
manners,  apparently  above  the  mere  trade  of  a  painter,  he  prob- 
ably travelled  for  the  benefit  of  his  country  and  his  own  health. 
As  the  political  sky  was  at  that  time  overcast  with  many  ap- 
pearances of  a  storm,  our  countrymen  noticed  several  genteel 
travellers  from  Britain,  who  seemed  to  be  gentlemen  of  leisure 
and  observation,  and  mostly  Scotchmen."  (Does  the  Doctor 
mean  to  insinuate  that  these  Scotch  gentlemen,  and  among 
them  Alexander,  who  was  "above  the  mere  trade  of  a  painter" 
and  "travelled  for  the  benefit  of  his  country,"  were  spies)? 
"Mr.  Alexander  associated  almost  exclusively  with  the  gentle- 
men from  Scotland,  and  was  said  by  them  to  paint  for  his 
amusement."  To  paint  for  money  would  be  degradation  :- 
not  so  to  write  —  to  plead  —  to  physic,  or  to  kill.  "Be  that  as 
it  may,  he  soon  opened  a  painting  room,  well  provided  with 
cameras  and  optical  glasses  for  taking  prospective  views.  He 
soon  put  upon  canvas  the  Hunters,  the  Keiths,  the  Fergusons, 
the  Grants  and  the  Hamiltons,  and  this  interest  led  to  the 
recommendation  of  the  youth  Gilbert  Stuart,  to  the  notice 
and  patronage  of  Mr.  Alexander,  who,  being  pleased  with  his 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

talents,  gave  him  lessons  in  the  grammar  of  the  art  —  I  mean 
drawing  —  and  the  groundwork  of  the  palette.  After  spending 
the  summer  in  Rhode  Island,  he  went  to  South  Carolina,  and 
thence  to  Scotland,  taking  young  Stuart  with  him.  Mr. 
Alexander  died  not  long  after  his  arrival  at  Edinburgh,  leaving 
his  pupil  to  the  care  of  Sir  George  Chambers,  who,  it  seems, 
did  not  long  survive  his  friend  Alexander.  After  these  sad 
disappointments  our  young  artist  fell  into  the  hands  of  —  I 
know  not  whom,  nor  do  I  regret  never  hearing  him  named, 
as  he  treated  Stuart  harshly,  and  put  him  on  board  a  collier, 
bound  to  Nova  Scotia,  whence  he  got  on,  not  without  suffer- 
ing, to  Rhode  Island.  What  his  treatment  was  I  never  could 
learn;  I  only  know  that  it  required  a  few  weeks  to  equip  him 
with  suitable  clothing  to  appear  in  the  streets,  or  to  allow  any 
one  of  his  former  friends,  save  the  writer,  to  know  of  his  return 
home.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  was  such  as  neither  Gilbert 
Stuart,  father,  or  son,  ever  thought  proper  to  mention.  It  is 
probable  the  youth  worked  for  his  passage  to  America." 

If  Stuart  went  on  this  first  unfortunate  voyage  to  Europe 
with  Alexander,  in  the  winter  of  1772,  he  was  of  course  18 
years  of  age,  and  we  cannot  well  assign  less  than  a  year  for  the 
events  which  took  place  before  he  arrived  again  at  Newport.1 

It  appears  that  he  soon  resumed  his  study  of  drawing  and 
practice  of  painting.  Waterhouse  says,  "Mr.  Stuart  was  fully 
aware  of  the  great  importance  of  the  art  of  drawing  with  anatom- 
icaj  exactness,  and  took  vast  pains  to  attain  it."  The  Doctor, 
who  was  likewise  making  efforts  to  draw,  in  conjunction  with 
Stuart,  prevailed  on  a  "strong  muscle  blacksmith,"  for  half  a 
dollar  an  evening,  to  exhibit  his  person  for  their  study. 

Stuart  now  commenced  portrait  painter  in  form.  His 
mother's  brother,  Mr.  Joseph  Anthony,  was  then  a  thriving 
merchant  in  Philadelphia.  He  is  well  known  in  that  city,  and 
has  been  since  the  days  of  banking,  the  president  of  one  of 
those  institutions.  This  gentleman,  visiting  his  native  colony 
and  his  sister,  was  struck  with  admiration  on  entering  the 

1  Stuart  went  to  Scotland  with  Cosmo  Alexander  in  1772  and  returned  to  Rhode 
Island  in  1774. 


JAMES  WARD 

1769-1859 
BY  GILBERT  STUART 

Signed  G.  C.  Stuart,  1779.  From  the  collection  of  The  Minneapolis  Institute  of  Art 


STUART'S  WEALTHY  UNCLE  199 

painting  room  of  his  nephew,  by  seeing  a  likeness  of  his  mother 
(the  young  painter's  grandmother),  who  died  when  Gilbert 
was  a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age.  He  was  now  about  nine- 
teen, and  had  within  the  last  year  been  buffeted  with  no  gentle 
hands  from  the  quiet  abode  of  his  parents  in  the  north,  to  the 
southern  colony  of  Carolina,  thence  to  Scotland,  to  Nova 
Scotia  in  a  collier,  and  through  privations  and  hardships  to 
Newport  again.  But  the  image  of  his  mother's  parent,  who 
had  probably  caressed  him  with  a  grandmother's  fondness 
when  a  child,  had  been  present  with  him  in  his  wanderings, 
and  one  of  the  first  efforts  of  his  incipient  art  was  to  perpetuate 
that  image  on  his  canvas.  This  faculty,  the  result  of  strong 
observation  on  a  strong  mind,  was  one  of  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  Mr.  Stuart,  and  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
mention  extraordinary  proofs  of  it  in  the  sequel. 

The  effect  which  this  testimony  of  the  young  man's  affection 
for  his  parent,  and  of  his  skill  as  a  painter,  was  such  as  to  in- 
terest Mr.  Anthony  warmly  in  his  behalf.  "He  was  proud," 
says  Waterhouse,  "of  patronizing  his  ingenious  nephew,  after 
a  circumstance  which  greatly  surprised  and  affected"  him. 
Mr.  Anthony  employed  the  young  painter  to  make  portraits  of 
himself,  his  wife,  and  two  children.  "Another  gentleman," 
Doctor  Waterhouse  says  in  continuation,  "of  opulence,  followed 
his  (Anthony's)  example,  and  several  others  sat  for  their 
single  portraits,  so  that  our  aspiring  artist  had  as  much  busi- 
ness as  he  could  turn  his  hands  to;  and  the  buoyancy  of  his 
spirits  kept  pace  with  his  good  fortune.  He  never  had,  how- 
ever, that  evenness  of  spirits  which  marked  and  dignified  the 
characters  of  our  countrymen  Benjamin  West  and  John  Single- 
ton Copley.  With  Stuart  it  was  either  high  tide  or  low  tide. 
In  London  he  would  sometimes  lay  abed  for  weeks,  waiting 
for  the  tide  to  lead  him  on  to  fortune,  while  Copley  and 
West  had  the  industry  of  ants  before  they  attained  the  treasure 
of  bees.  There  was  a  caprice  in  Mr.  Stuart's  character  as  pro- 
voking to  his  best  friends  and  nearest  connections,  as  it  was 
unaccountable  to  the  public.  A  committee  of  the  Redwood 
Library,  of  Newport,  waited  upon  him  to  engage  him  to  paint 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

a  full-length  portrait  of  its  generous  founder,  Abraham  Red- 
wood, then  living  next  door  to  the  painter,  for  which  the  young 
artist  would  have  had  a  generous  reward,  but  all  that  his 
parents  and  the  rest  of  his  friends  could  say,  he  declined  it  in 
sullen  silence,  and  by  so  doing  turned  the  popular  tide  in  some 
degree  against  him.  Whether  any  of  the  committee  bargained 
with  him  in  the  spirit  and  style  of  a  mechanic,  I  never  knew; 
but  it  is  certain  he  never  would  hear  the  subject  mentioned  if 
he  could  check  it.  This  occurrence  cooled  the  zeal  of  many 
of  his  friends." 

The  doctor's  assertion,  that  he  "would  have  had  a  generous 
reward,"  is  gratuitous,  as  is  proved  by  his  suggestion,  that  "one 
of  the  committee"  (or  perhaps  the  whole  committee)  might 
have  "bargained  with  him  as  with  a  mechanic."  Or  might 
not  Stuart,  a  youth  of  19  or  20,  feel  that  he  could  not  paint 
a  full  length,  for  a  public  place  especially?  Might  he  not 
have  declined  to  do  that,  the  attempt  at  which  would  perplex, 
and  the  result  disgrace?  If  such  were  his  motives,  he  was  wise 
to  preserve  silence  —  for  his  friends  would  not  have  understood 
them. 

Ardent  as  Stuart's  love  of  painting  was,  we  have  the  author- 
ity of  his  early  friend  for  saying  that  music  divided  his  affections 
so  equally  with  her  sister,  that  it  was  difficult  to  say  which 
was  "the  ruling  passion." 

"Stuart,"  says  the  doctor,  "became  enamored  with  music, 
in  which  he  made  remarkable  progress  without  any  other 
master  than  his  own  superior  genius."  "I  was  willing  to  believe 
that  he  was  au  fait  in  the  science  of  sweet  sounds,  but  I  did 
not  always  feel  them  so  sweetly  as  he  did." 

The  young  painter  not  only  became  a  performer  on  various 
instruments,  but  ventured  likewise  to  compose.  The  biog- 
rapher of  this  early  portion  of  his  life,  says,  "once  he  attempted 
to  enrapture  me,  by  a  newly  studied  classical  composition.  I 
exerted  all  the  kind  attention  I  could  muster  up  for  the  occa- 
sion, until  his  sharp  eye  detected  by  my  physiognomy,  that  I 
did  not  much  relish  it.  He  colored,  sprang  up  in  a  rage,  and 
striding  back  and  forth  the  floor,  vociferated,  'you  have  no 


WATERHOUSE  GOES  TO  LONDON  201 

more  taste  for  music  than  a  jackass!  and  it  is  all  owing  to 
your  stupid  Quaker  education.'  To  which  I  replied,  "tis  very 
likely,  Gibby,  and  that  education  has  led  me  to  relish  silence 
more  than  all  the  passionate  noise  uttered  from  instrumental  or 
vocal  organs.'  Stuart's  reply  to  this,  with  a  laugh,  was,  'a 
good  hit,  Ben !  —  but  really  I  wish  you  had  more  taste  for 
music.'  'I  wish  so  too,  Stuart,'  said  his  friend,  'but  I  am  de- 
termined not  to  admire  more  in  a  picture  than  what  I  actually 
see  within  its  frame;  nor  affect  raptures  for  music  I  do  not 
feel.' ' 

"On  going  to  England,"  continues  the  Doctor,  "in  the 
beginning  of  March,  1775,  I  left  Gilbert  Stuart,  according  to 
his  own  account,  in  a  manner  disconsolate,  for,  beside  me,  he 
had  no  associate  with  whom  he  could  expatiate  and  dispute 
upon  painting  and  music." 

Stuart,  probably  finding  that  his  business  of  portrait  painting 
failed  in  consequence  of  the  preparations  for  war,  then  making 
in  the  colonies,  found  means  to  follow  his  friend  Waterhouse. 
We  have  been  told  that  he  was  assisted  by  some  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Newport.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  did  not  go  from 
home  well  provided,  except  with  talent,  to  meet  the  expenses 
incident  to  a  residence  in  the  English  metropolis.  He  has  told 
the  writer  that  he  embarked  from  the  port  of  Norfolk,  in 
Virginia,  with  the  localities  of  which  place,  and  with  its  older 
inhabitants,  he  was  well  acquainted.  He  went  thither  from  the 
port  of  Boston,  after  hostilities  had  commenced  between  the 
veterans  of  England  and  the  Yankee  yeomen.  Doctor  Water- 
house  says,  "Mr.  Stuart  was  shut  up  in  Boston,  when  the  first 
blood  was  spilt  at  Lexington,  in  our  contest  with  Great  Britain, 
April  the  19th,  1775,  and  escaped  from  it  about  ten  days 
before  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  arrived  in  London  the 
latter  end  of  November  following,  when  he  found  I  was  gone 
to  Edinburgh,  and  he  without  an  acquaintance."  From  this 
we  may  infer  that  Stuart  relied  upon  Waterhouse  principally 
for  introduction,  and  perhaps  support,  until  he  could  obtain 
employment.  As  he  escaped  from  the  town  of  Boston  on  the 
7th  of  June,  1775,  ten  days  before  the  fight  on  Breed's  hill,  and 


«02  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

reached  London  the  last  of  November,  even  the  tardy  move- 
ment of  ships  over  the  Atlantic  at  that  period,  allows  us  to 
suppose  that  the  young  man  passed  some  weeks  at  Norfolk.1 

Mr.  Trumbull,  who  was  the  fellow  student  of  Stuart,  under 
West,  and  in  some  sort,  the  pupil  of  Stuart,  who  had  preceded 
him  in  the  art,  and  ever  far  outstripped  him  in  portraiture,  gave 
the  following  anecdote  to  Mr.  James  Herring,  which  we  copy 
from  his  manuscript. 

"Trumbull  was  told  by  the  lady  of  a  British  officer,  that 
the  night  before  he  (Stuart)  left  Newport,  he  spent  most  part 
of  the  night  under  the  window  of  a  friend  of  hers,  playing  on 
the  flute  (he  played  very  well  on  the  flute) ,  and  we  spent  many 
an  evening  together  playing  duets  —  he  took  lessons  too  in 
London  of  a  German,  who  belonged  to  the  king's  band.  —  T. 
She  afterwards  married  a  British  officer." 

His  friend  Waterhouse  continues,  "When  I  returned  from 
Edinburgh  to  London  in  the  summer  of  1776,  I  found  Mr. 
Stuart  in  lodging  in  York  buildings,  with  but  one  picture  on 
his  easel,  and  that  was  a  family  group  for  Mr.  Alexander  Grant, 
a  Scotch  gentleman  to  whom  he  brought  letters,  and  who  had 
paid  him  for  it  in  advance.  It  remained  long  in  his  lodgings,  and 
I  am  not  sure  that  it  ever  was  finished."  Not  being  sure  —  we 
ought  to  conclude  that  it  was  finished  and  delivered  to  the  owner. 

During  this  period  we  presume  to  fix  the  time  for  an  adven- 
ture, which  Mr.  Stuart,  in  his  old  age,  often  mentioned.  His 
father's  business  was  broken  up  by  the  events  of  the  war  in 
America;  the  friend  upon  whom  he  relied  had  left  London;  he 
found  himself  poor  and  unknown  in  that  desert,  a  populous 
metropolis,  without  money,  experience  or  prudence  —  it  was 
then  that  his  knowledge  of  music,  practical  and  theoretical, 
stood  him  in  stead,  and  gave  him  the  means  of  subsistence  in 
a  manner  as  extraordinary  as  his  character  and  actions  were 
eccentric.  To  Mr.  Charles  Fraser,  of  Charleston,  and  Mr. 
Thomas  Sully,  of  Philadelphia,  he  related  the  following 
circumstances  nearly  in  the  same  words. 

1  Stuart  sailed  from  Boston  for  London  on  June  16,  1775,  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy  1777-85,  and  went  to  Dublin,  Ireland,  in  1787. 


STUART  AS  AN  ORGANIST  203 

While  destitute  of  the  means  whereby  to  support  himself,  or 
pay  his  landlord  for  board  and  lodging,  already  due,  walking 
the  streets  without  any  definite  object  in  view,  he  passed  by  a 
church  in  Foster  Lane;  he  observed  that  the  door  was  open, 
and  several  persons  going  in.  At  the  same  time,  the  sound  of 
an  organ  struck  his  ear,  ever  alive  to  the  "concord  of  sweet 
sounds,"  and  he  approached  the  door,  at  first  only  to  gratify 
his  sense  of  harmony.  Before  venturing  to  enter  a  temple 
devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  benevolent  Giver  of  good  to  all,  he 
had  to  consider  the  cost  as  the  pew  woman  would  expect  her 
fee.  He  therefore,  after  indulging  himself  with  the  sounds 
which  issued  from  the  door,  as  a  hungry  pauper  snuffs  the 
savors  from  a  cook's  shop,  asked  of  a  person  who  was  enter- 
ing to  the  feast,  if  anything  particular  was  going  on  within; 
and  was  told  that  the  vestry  were  sitting  as  judges  of  several 
candidates  for  the  situation  of  organist,  the  former  incumbent 
having  recently  died.  The  trial  was  then  going  on  —  Stuart 
entered  the  church,  kept  clear  of  the  pew  woman,  and  placed 
himself  near  the  judges,  when  being  encouraged,  as  he  said,  by 
a  look  of  good  nature  in  one  of  the  vestrymen's  jolly  counte- 
nance, and  by  the  consciousness,  that  he  could  produce  better 
tones  from  the  instrument  than  any  he  had  heard  that  day,  he 
addressed  the  man  with  the  inviting  face,  and  asked  if  he,  a 
stranger,  might  try  his  skill  and  become  a  candidate  for  the 
vacant  place.  He  was  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  he  had 
the  pleasure  to  find  that  the  time  he  had  employed  in  making 
himself  a  musician,  had  not  been  thrown  away  even  in  the  most 
worldly  acceptation  of  the  words.  His  performance  was  pre- 
ferred to  that  of  his  rivals,  and  after  due  inquiries  and  a  refer- 
ence (doubtless  to  Mr.  Grant,  to  whom  alone  he  had  brought 
letters),  by  which  his  fitness  for  the  station  was  ascertained,  he 
was  engaged  as  the  organist  of  the  church,  at  a  salary  of  thirty 
pounds  a  year.  He  was  thus  relieved  from  his  present  neces- 
sities, and  enabled  to  pursue  his  studies  as  a  painter.  "When" 
said  Mr.  Fraser,  "Mr.  Stuart  related  this  anecdote  to  me,  he 
was  sitting  in  his  parlor,  and  as  if  to  prove  that  he  did  not 
neglect  the  talent  that  had  been  so  friendly  to  him  in  his  youth, 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF   DESIGN 

and  in  the  days  of  extreme  necessity,  he  took  his  seat  at  a  small 
organ  in  the  room,  and  played  several  old  fashioned  tunes  with 
much  feeling  and  execution."  Mr.  Sully  related  this  anecdote 
of  Stuart's  early  life  nearly  in  the  same  words,  and  praised  his 
execution  on  an  organized  pianoforte  very  highly.  Mr.  Sully's 
taste  and  knowledge  of  music  render  his  approbation  high 
authority  as  to  Stuart's  skill  on  this  instrument. 

Doctor  Waterhouse  justly  observes,  that  "Stuart's  acknowl- 
edged advancement  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  music  was 
a  fresh  evidence  of  his  vigorous  intellect  and  various  talents, 
which  constitutes  genius.  He  certainly  had  that  peculiar 
structure  of  the  brain  or  mind  which  gives  an  aptitude  to  excel 
in  everything  to  which  he  chose  to  direct  his  strong  faculties." 
On  the  return  of  this  friend  to  London,  he  had  the  pleasure 
of  procuring  several  sitters  for  the  young  painter;  but  could 
with  difficulty  keep  the  eccentric  genius  in  a  straight  course 
or  within  legitimate  limits.  We  will  let  the  doctor  tell  this 
portion  of  Stuart's  story  in  his  own  way. 

"As  I  was  at  that  time  'walking  the  hospitals,'  as  they  call 
it,  I  took  up  my  quarters  in  Gracechurch  Street,  to  be  near  St. 
Thomas's  and  Guy's  Hospitals,  which  was  about  three  miles 
from  Stuart's  lodgings,  an  inconvenience  and  grievance  to  us 
both  as  we  could  not  see  each  other  every  day.  Therefore 
measures  were  taken  to  procure  him  lodgings  between  the 
houses  of  my  two  cousins,  Mrs.  Freeman  and  Mrs.  Chorley, 
nieces  of  my  kinsman  and  patron  Dr.  Fothergill.  This  was  the 
best  I  could  do  for  my  friend;  but  it  was  not  the  most  favored 
location  for  a  professor  of  one  of  the  fine  arts,  seeing  the  Quak- 
ers are  distinguished  more  for  their  attachment  to  the  plain 
arts.  Yet  we  made  out  amongst  us  to  keep  Stuart  even  with  his 
landlord  and  washerwoman,  which  was  doing  better  than  he 
had  done.  Dr.  Fothergill  directed  him  to  paint  my  portrait 
for  him,  which  I  considered  as  a  delicate  mode  of  giving  the 
young  American  artist  ten  guineas,  for  no  one  ever  knew  what 
became  of  it  after  it  was  carried  to  Harpur  Street.  Doctor 
William  Curtis,  author  of  the  splendid  Flora  Londinensis  sat 
for  his  portrait,  and  so  did  two  beautiful  young  ladies,  sisters; 


THE  NEEDY  ARTIST  AND  HIS  FRIENDS         205 

one  with  dark  hair,  as  the  tragic  muse,  the  other  with  reddish 
hair  and  light  blue  eyes,  as  the  comic  muse;  and  yet  both 
daughters  of  parents  remarkable  for  walking  by  the  strictest 
rules  of  the  sect  in  which  they  were  distinguished  leaders. 
The  celebrated  Doctor  Lettsom  was  easily  persuaded  to  sit  or 
rather  stand  for  his  full-length  picture  for  the  royal  exhibition 
—  nevertheless  Stuart  was  very  poor  and  in  debt.  Of  my  allow- 
ance of  pocket  money  he  always  had  two  thirds,  and  more  than 
once  the  other  third.  He  never  finished  Doctor  Lettsom's 
portrait,  and  was  of  course  deprived  of  that  opportunity  of 
exhibiting  the  picture  of  a  well-known  physician  and  philan- 
thropist." 

This  reminds  us  of  his  declining  to  paint  the  full  length  of 
Mr.  Redwood,  in  Newport.  Is  it  not  probable  that  Stuart 
found  that  even  yet  he  could  not  paint  a  full  length  that  would 
be  received  at  Somerset  House,  or  if  received,  contribute  to  his 
reputation?  His  friend  proceeds: 

"I  devised  another  plan  to  benefit  him.  Dr.  George  For- 
dyce,  a  very  learned  Scotch  physician,  whose  medical  and 
chemical  lectures,  I  every  morning  attended  in  Essex  Street, 
during  between  two  and  three  years,  was  a  philosophical  phy- 
sician much  admired  by  his  pupils.  I  proposed  to  my  fellow- 
students  to  procure  a  fine  engraving  of  our  favorite  teacher. 
The  proposal  took  at  once,  and  I  was  authorized  to  have  the 
portrait  taken  by  my  friend  and  companion,  Gilbert  Charles 
Stuart,  and  they  each  one  paid  me  their  half-guinea  subscrip- 
tion, and  I  was  unwise  enough  to  let  my  needy  friend  have 
the  greater  part  of  it  before  he  commenced  the  painting,  which 
I  never  could  induce  him  even  to  begin.  This  was  a  source 
of  inexpressible  unhappiness  and  mortification,  which  at  length 
brought  on  me  a  fever,  the  only  dangerous  disease  I  ever 
encountered.  After  my  recovery  I  had  to  refund  the  money, 
when  I  had  not  a  farthing  of  my  own,  but  what  came  from  the 
thoughtful  bounty  of  my  most  excellent  kinsman,  Dr.  Fother- 
gill,  who  would  never  afterwards  see  Gilbert  Charles  Stuart. 
Twice  before  this  I  took  him  out  of  a  sponging  house  by  paying 
the  demands  for  which  he  was  confined." 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

It  appears  that  all  this  could  not  shake  the  friendship  or 
break  the  cords  which  attached  the  student  of  medicine  to  his 
imprudent  countryman;  for  he  goes  on  to  say,  "Stuart  and  I 
agreed  to  devote  one  day  in  the  week  to  viewing  pictures, 
wherever  we  could  get  admittance.  We  used  Maitland's 
description  of  London  for  a  guide.  We  found  nothing  equal 
to  the  collection  at  the  Queen's  Palace  or  Buckingham  House. 
We  made  it  a  point  also  to  walk  together  through  all  the  nar- 
row lanes  of  London,  and  having  a  pocket  map,  we  marked 
such  streets  and  lanes  as  we  passed  through  with  a  red  lead 
pencil,  and  our  map  was  full  two-thirds  streaked  over  with  red 
when  we  received  some  solemn  cautions  and  advice  to  desist 
from  our  too  curious  rambles.  We  were  told  by  some  who 
knew  better  than  we  did,  that  we  ran  a  risk  of  bodily  injury, 
or  the  loss  of  our  hats  and  watches,  if  not  our  lives,  when  we 
gave  up  the  project.  We  had,  however,  pursued  it  once  a  week 
for  more  than  two  years,  and  never  experienced  other  than 
verbal  abuse,  chiefly  from  women,  and  saw  a  great  deal  of 
that  dirty,  monstrous,  overgrown  city,  containing,  to  appear- 
ance, no  other  people  than  the  natives  of  Britain  and  Ireland, 
and  a  few  Jews,  not  laughing  and  humming  a  song  like  the 
populace  of  Paris,  but,  wearing  a  stern,  anxious,  discontented 
phiz." 

"In  the  summer  of  1776,"  the  young  student  of  medicine 
has  told  us  that  he  returned  from  Edinburgh  to  London,  and 
supposing  these  rambles  to  commence  soon  after,  the  two  years 
brings  us  late  in  1778,  in  which  year  Stuart  painted  his  own 
portrait  for  Waterhouse,  at  the  age  of  24,  which  is  said  to  be 
a  picture  of  extraordinary  merit.  All  this  time  the  young 
painter  had  never  been  introduced  to  his  countryman,  West. 
There  appears  to  be  no  reason  for  this  neglect  on  Stuart's 
part.  This  source  of  instruction  was  accessible  to  all;  and 
particularly  to  Americans.  His  doors  were  ever  open,  and  his 
advice  ever  freely  given. 

In  a  letter  before  us  it  appears  that  Dr.  Waterhouse  enjoyed 
the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  West,  "from  the  year  1775,"  he  says, 
"my  introduction  to  that  interesting  painter,  was  through  the 


FIRST  MEETING  WITH  WEST  207 

friendly  attention  of  his  own  father."  Yet  late  in  the  year 
1778,  Gilbert  Stuart  was  unknown  to  Benjamin  West,  though 
residing  with  Waterhouse  in  London.  Doctor  Waterhouse 
thinks  that  after  this  long  delay,  he  was  the  means  of  intro- 
ducing Stuart  to  Mr.  West,  but  we  prefer  the  following  ac- 
count from  Mr.  Sully,  not  doubting  in  the  least  the  accuracy 
of  the  Doctor's  statement,  that  he  "called  upon  Mr.  West,  and 
laid  open  to  him  his  (Stuart's)  situation,  when  that  worthy 
man  saw  into  it  at  once,  and  sent  him  three  or  four  guineas,'* 
and  that  two  days  afterward  he  sent  his  servant  into  the  city 
to  ask  Mr.  Stuart  to  come  to  him,  when  he  employed  him  in 
copying."  But  we  believe  the  introduction  to  have  taken 
place  prior  to  Waterhouse's  visit,  although  probably  a  very 
few  days. 

When  Mr.  Sully  returned  home  from  England,  West  gave 
him  a  letter  to  his  old  friend  Mr.  Wharton,  then  a  governor  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  respecting  a  place  for  the  reception 
of  the  great  picture  of  the  "Healing  in  the  Temple,"  and 
Wliarton,  in  conversation  on  the  subject  of  paintings  and  paint- 
ers, told  Sully  that  he  introduced  Stuart  to  West,  and  related 
the  circumstance  thus: 

"I  was  with  several  other  Americans  dining  with  West, 
when  a  servant  announced  a  person  as  wanting  to  speak  to 
him.  'I  am  engaged';  but,  after  a  pause,  he  added,  'Who  is 
he? '  'He  says,  sir,  that  he  is  from  America.'  That  was  enough. 
W'est  left  the  table  immediately,  and  on  returning,  said, '  Whar- 
ton, there  is  a  young  man  in  the  next  room,  who  says  he  is 
known  in  our  city,  go  you  and  see  what  you  can  make  of  him.' 
I  went  out  and  saw  a  handsome  youth  in  a  fashionable  green 
coat,  and  I  at  once  told  him  that  I  was  sent  to  see  what  I  could 
make  of  him.  'You  are  known  in  Philadelphia?'  'Yes  sir.' 
'Your  name  is  Stuart?'  'Yes.'  'Have  you  no  letters  for  Mr. 
West?'  'No  sir.'  'WTiom  do  you  know  in  Philadelphia?' 
'Joseph  Anthony  is  my  uncle.'  'That's  enough  —  come  in,' 
and  I  carried  him  in,  and  he  received  a  hearty  welcome." 

Such  appears  to  be  the  authentic  account  of  Stuart's  intro- 
duction to  the  man  from  whose  instruction  he  derived  the  most 


-,>os  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS   OF  DESIGN 

important  advantages  from  that  time  forward;  whose  char- 
acter he  always  justly  appreciated,  but  whose  example  he 
could  not,  or  would  not  follow. 

It  appears  from  this,  that  notwithstanding  Stuart's  poverty 
at  this  time,  he  was  well  dressed.  Waterhouse  says  that  he 
lived  in  the  house  of  a  tailor.  It  appears  that  Stuart  painted 
more  than  one  picture  of  Waterhouse.  "I  was  often  to  him," 
says  the  Doctor,  "what  Rembrandt's  mother  was  to  that  won- 
derful Dutchman,  an  object  at  hand  on  which  to  exercise  a 
ready  pencil.  I  once  prevailed  on  him  to  try  his  pencil  on  a 
canvas  of  a  three-quarter  size,  representing  me  with  both 
hands  clasping  my  right  knee,  thrown  over  my  left  one,  and 
looking  steadfastly  on  a  human  skull  placed  on  a  polished  ma- 
hogany table."  As  this  is  all  we  hear  of  this  picture  it  was 
probably  left  unfinished  and  destroyed. 

Of  his  friend  Gilbert's  epistolary  habits,  the  Doctor  gives 
the  following  account.  He  says,  on  one  occasion,  "Mr.  Stuart 
sent  me  the  following  letter:  'Friend  Benjamin,  by  no  means 
disappoint  me,  but  be  at  my  lodgings  precisely  at  three  o'clock, 
to  go  to  the  Queen's  Palace.  Yours,  G.  Stuart.  Saturday 
afternoon.'  There  was  no  date  of  the  month  or  year,  but 
I  think  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1778.  In  one  of  his  letters, 
written  to  me  while  at  Edinburgh,  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
year  1775,  or  the  beginning  of  '76,  he  writes  thus  in  a  P.  S. 
'I  don't  know  the  day  of  the  month  or  even  what  month,  and 
I  have  no  one  to  ask  at  present,  but  the  day  of  the  week  is 
Tuesday,  I  believe.'  I  question  if  Mr.  Stuart  ever  wrote  a 
line  to  either  father,  mother  or  sister,  after  he  went  to  England. 
The  first  letter  he  wrote  to  me  while  at  Edinburgh,  was  a  few 
days  after  his  arrival  in  London,  in  which  he  says,  'Your 
father  was  at  our  house  just  before  I  left  home,  when  he  said 
Gilbert  and  Ben  are  so  knit  together  like  David  and  Jonathan, 
that  if  they  heard  from  one,  they  would  also  hear  from  the 
other.'  But  in  this  he  was  mistaken;  Gilbert  Stuart's  parents 
never  had  a  single  line  from  him,  and  I  doubt  if  there  be  in 
existence  a  single  letter  in  his  remaining  family,  or  anywhere 
else,  except  four  of  his  letters  in  my  possession.  How  often 


TRUMBULL  ON  STUART'S  POVERTY  209 

have  I  entreated  him  to  write  to  his  mother!  He  was  in  this 
respect  a  strange  character.  Strongly  attached  to  his  parents, 
yet  he  was  too  indolent  —  or  too  something  else,  to  write 
them  a  letter  when  he  knew  that  Rhode  Island  was  first  a 
British  post,  and  then  a  French  one;  and  that  his  parents  and 
sister  found  it  expedient  to  quit  Newport  for  the  British  port 
of  Halifax,  in  Nova  Scotia;  and  when  there  were  numerous 
opportunities  every  week  to  that  country,  he  never  wrote  a 
line  to  them." 

Soon  after  Stuart's  introduction  to  Mr.  West,  Doctor  Water- 
house  went  to  Leyden  to  finish  his  studies,  and  they  did  not 
meet  again  until  many  years  after  both  had  returned  to 
America. 

From  Mr.  John  Trumbull  we  have  the  next  notice  of  Stuart 
in  point  of  time.  Mr.  Trumbull  after  studying  in  Boston  for 
some  years,  occupying  the  room  which  had  been  Smibert's, 
and  in  which  many  of  his  pictures  still  remained,  made  his  way 
through  France  to  London,  with  letters  to  Mr.  West,  in 
August,  1780.  He  found  Stuart  at  Mr.  West's  house  in  Newman 
Street,  and  thus  described  his  appearance.  "He  was  dressed 
in  an  old  black  coat  with  one-half  torn  off  the  hip  and  pinned 
up,  and  looked  more  like  a  poor  beggar  than  a  painter." 
Such  is  the  description  taken  down  by  Mr.  Herring  from  the 
mouth  of  Mr.  Trumbull.  Mr.  Herring's  manuscript  note  from 
Mr.  Trumbull  proceeds  thus,  "He  (Stuart)  was  wretchedly 
poor  while  in  London,  and  on  one  occasion  when  he  was  sick, 
Trumbull  called  to  see  him;  he  found  him  in  bed  and  apparently 
ill.  Sometime  afterwards  he  asked  Trumbull  if  he  had  any 
idea  what  was  the  matter  with  him.  On  being  told  that  he  had 
not,  he  stated  that  it  was  hunger!  that  he  had  eaten  nothing 
in  a  week  but  a  sea  biscuit." 

Our  readers  will  recollect  that  this  beggarly  appearance 
and  absolute  starvation,  was  after  Stuart  had  been  received 
as  a  pupil  by  Benjamin  West,  and  employed  by  him  in  copying 
for  him,  and  otherwise  assisting  his  labors. 

The  above  account  of  Stuart's  situation  in  London,  in  the 
year  1780,  having  been  submitted  to  Doctor  Waterhouse,  he 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

wrote  on  it,  "I  had  introduced  him  to  the  family  of  Doctor 
Fothergill's  nieces,  Mrs.  Freeman  and  Mrs.  Chorley,  and  they 
extended  towards  him  every  kind  act  of  hospitality  and  friend- 
ship, and  would  have  never  withheld  assistance  had  they 
known  he  wanted  for  anything,  so  long  as  I  was  in  the  way  of 
knowing  anything  about  them  or  him  in  London.  How  he 
stood  with  them  after  I  left  London  for  Leyden,  I  cannot  say, 
but  they  both  remembered  him  in  then*  letters  to  me." 

The  following  is  from  Mr.  Trumbull,  through  Mr.  Herring. 
"He  (Stuart)  never  could  exercise  the  patience  necessary  to 
correct  drawing.  When  a  scholar  of  Mr.  West's,  his  friend  and 
instructor  observed  to  his  son  Raphael,  Trumbull  and  Stuart, 
'You  ought  to  go  to  the  Academy  to  study  drawing;  but  as 
you  would  not  like  to  go  there  without  being  able  to  draw 
better  than  you  now  do  —  if  you  will  only  attend  I  will  keep 
a  little  academy,  and  give  you  instructions  every  evening.' 
This  proposition  was  embraced  with  pleasure,  and  accordingly 
the  course  commenced.  Trumbull  and  young  West  applied 
themselves  with  diligence,  and  became  adepts.  Stuart  soon 
made  his  paper  black  all  over,  lost  his  patience,  and  gave  it 
up."  So  far  Trumbull.  Another  anecdote  respecting  Stuart's 
drawing  is,  that  Fuseli  on  seeing  some  of  his  drawings,  said, 
"If  this  is  the  best  you  can  do,  you  had  better  go  and  make 
shoes." 

These  anecdotes  being  submitted  by  Mr.  Herring  to  Doctor 
Waterhouse,  he  writes  on  the  paper — "S.  was  patient  and 
even  laborious  in  his  drawings,  and  Mr.  F.  had  he  the  eye  of 
a  true  painter,  must  have  seen  real  genius  in  his  early  Drawings." 

As  Fuseli  has  been  here  introduced,  we  will  quote  from  Mr. 
Allston  an  anecdote  connected  both  with  him  and  our  present 
subject.  Mr.  -Allston  had  been  previously  giving  his  opinion  of 
the  character  of  the  Swiss  artist,  and  he  concludes  thus: 
"Before  I  leave  Fuseli,  I  must  tell  you  a  whimsical  anecdote 
which  I  had  from  Stuart.  S.  was  one  day  at  Raphael  Smith's 
the  engraver,  when  Fuseli,  to  whom  Stuart  was  then  unknown, 
came  in,  who,  having  some  private  business,  was  taken  into 
another  room.  'I  know  that  you  are  a  great  physiognomist, 


FUSELI'S  CAUSTIC  WIT  211 

Mr.  Fuseli,' said  Smith.  'Well,  what  if  I  am?'  'Pray  did  you 
observe  the  gentleman  I  was  talking  with  just  now?'  'I  saw 
the  man;  what  then?'  'Why,  I  wish  to  know  if  you  think 
he  can  paint? '  'Umph,  I  don't  know  but  he  might  —  he  has  a 
coot  leg.'  Poor  Stuart!  that  same  leg,  which  I  well  remember 
to  have  been  a  finely  formed  one,  became  the  subject  of  a 
characteristic  joke  with  him  but  a  few  weeks  before  he  died. 
I  asked  'how  he  was?'  He  was  then  very  much  emaciated. 
'Ah,'  said  he,  'you  can  judge';  and  he  drew  up  his  pantaloons. 
'You  see  how  much  I  am  out  of  drawing.' ' 

"He  was  a  much  better  scholar  than  I  had  supposed  he 
was,"  said  Mr.  Trumbull,  speaking  of  Stuart,  as  he  knew  him 
in  London.  "He  once  undertook  to  paint  my  portrait,  and  I 
sat  every  day  for  a  week,  and  then  he  left  off  without  finishing 
it,  saying,  he  'could  make  nothing  of  my  damn'd  sallow  face.' 
But  during  the  time,  in  his  conversation  he  observed,  that  he 
had  not  only  read,  but  remembered  what  he  had  read.  In 
speaking  of  the  character  of  man,  'Linnaeus  is  right,'  said  he, 
'Plato  and  Diogenes  call  man  a  biped  without  feathers;  that's 
a  shallow  definition.  Franklin's  is  better  —  a  tool-making 
animal;  but  Linnaeus'  is  the  best  —  homo,  animal  mendax, 
rapax,  pugnax.'  ' 

It  was  our  impression  that  Stuart  received  his  education  in 
Scotland,  having  been  sent  thither  by  his  father  for  that  pur- 
pose; but  the  testimony  of  Doctor  Waterhouse,  as  above  given, 
shows  that  his  knowledge  of  classical  literature  was  obtained 
in  Newport,  when  he  was  the  Doctor's  schoolfellow. 

We  have  seen  that  the  young  painter  was  received  as  a  pupil 
by  Mr.  West,  in  the  summer  of  1778,  and  at  the  age  of  24.  At 
this  age  he  had  painted  his  own  portrait,  to  the  great  excellence 
of  which  Doctor  Waterhouse  bears  ample  testimony.  He  says, 
"It  is  painted  hi  his  freest  manner,  with  a  Rubens'  hat";  and 
in  another  passage,  says  that  Stuart  in  his  best  days  said  he 
need  not  be  ashamed  of  it.  Thus  qualified  and  thus  situated, 
Stuart's  friend  Waterhouse  left  him,  and  did  not  again  see  him 
until  the  evening  of  his  life.  We  have  now  to  seek  for  other 
sources  of  information  respecting  the  subject  of  our  memoir. 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

To  Mr.  Charles  Fraser  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  we  are 
indebted  for  communications  made  with  a  frankness  which 
adds  to  then*  value.  He  says  Mr.  Stuart  told  him,  "that  on 
application  to  Mr.  West  to  receive  him  as  a  pupil,  he  was 
welcomed  with  true  benevolence,  encouraged,  and  taken  into 
the  family;  that  nothing  could  exceed  the  attention  of  that 
artist  to  him;  they  were,"  said  he,  "paternal."  Two  years  after 
this,  when  Mr.  Trumbull  saw  him  at  work  in  Mr.  West's 
house,  in  an  old  torn  coat,  and  looking  like  a  beggar,  we  can 
only  suppose  that  Stuart,  like  many  others,  had  put  on  an  old 
coat  while  at  work  to  save  a  new  one. 

Of  this  period  of  his  life  he  has  often  spoken  to  the  writer. 
On  one  occasion,  as  I  stood  by  his  easel  and  admired  the  magic 
of  his  pencil,  he  amused  me  and  my  companion,  whose  portrait 
he  was  painting,  by  the  following  anecdote  of  himself  and  his 
old  master:  — 

"Mr.  West  treated  me  very  cavalierly  on  one  occasion,  but 
I  had  my  revenge.  It  was  the  custom,  whenever  a  new  Gov- 
ernor-General was  sent  out  to  India,  that  he  should  be  compli- 
mented by  a  present  of  his  majesty's  portrait,  and  Mr.  West 
being  the  king's  painter,  was  called  upon  on  all  such  occasions. 

So,  when  Lord was  about  to  sail  for  his  government,  the 

usual  order  was  received  for  his  majesty's  likeness.  My  old 
master,  who  was  busily  employed  upon  one  of  his  ten-acre 
pictures,  in  company  with  prophets  and  apostles,  thought  he 
would  turn  over  the  king  to  me.  He  never  could  paint  a  por- 
trait. 'Stuart,'  said  he,  'it  is  a  pity  to  make  his  majesty  sit 
again  for  his  picture;  there  is  the  portrait  of  him  that  you 

painted,  let  me  have  it  for  Lord :  I  will  retouch  it,  and  it 

will  do  well  enough.'  'Well  enough!  very  pretty,'  thought  I, 
'you  might  be  civil  when  you  ask  a  favor.'  So  I  thought,  but  I 
said,  'Very  well,  sir.'  So  the  picture  was  carried  down  to  his 
room,  and  at  it  he  went.  I  saw  he  was  puzzled.  He  worked 
at  it  all  that  day.  The  next  morning,  'Stuart,'  said  he,  'have 
you  got  your  palette  set?'  'Yes,  sir.'  'Well,  you  can  soon 
set  another,  let  me  have  the  one  you  prepared  for  yourself;  I 
can't  satisfy  myself  with  that  head.'  I  gave  him  my  palette, 


THE  TABLES  TURNED  ON  WEST  213 

and  he  worked  the  greater  part  of  that  day.  In  the  afternoon 
I  went  into  his  room,  and  he  was  hard  at  it.  I  saw  that  he 
had  got  up  to  the  knees  in  mud.  'Stuart,'  says  he,  'I  don't 
know  how  it  is,  but  you  have  a  way  of  managing  your  tints 
unlike  everybody  else,  —  here,  —  take  the  palette  and  finish 
the  head.'  'I  can't,  sir.'  'You  can't?'  'I  can't  indeed,  sir,  as 
it  is,  but  let  it  stand  till  to-morrow  morning  and  get  dry,  and 
I  will  go  over  it  with  all  my  heart.'  The  picture  was  to  go  away 
the  day  after  the  morrow,  so  he  made  me  promise  to  do  it  early 
next  morning.  You  know  he  never  came  down  into  the  painting 
room,  at  the  bottom  of  the  gallery,  until  about  ten  o'clock. 
I  went  into  his  room  bright  and  early,  and  by  half -past  nine  I 
had  finished  the  head.  That  done,  Rafe  and  I  began  to  fence; 
I  with  my  maulstick  and  he  with  his  father's.  I  had  just  driven 
Rafe  up  to  the  wall,  with  his  back  to  one  of  his  father's  best 
pictures,  when  the  old  gentleman,  as  neat  as  a  lad  of  wax,  with 
his  hair  powdered,  his  white  silk  stockings,  and  yellow  morocco 
slippers,  popped  into  the  room,  looking  as  if  he  had  stepped  out 
of  a  bandbox.  We  had  made  so  much  noise  that  we  did  not 
hear  him  come  down  the  gallery  or  open  the  door.  'There  you 
dog,'  says  I  to  Rafe,  'there  I  have  you!  and  nothing  but  your 
background  relieves  you!'  The  old  gentleman  could  not  help 
smiling  at  my  technical  joke,  but  soon  looking  very  stern, 
'Mr.  Stuart,'  said  he,  'is  this  the  way  you  use  me?'  'Why, 
what's  the  matter,  sir?  I  have  neither  hurt  the  boy  nor  the 
background.'  'Sir,  when  you  knew  I  had  promised  that  the 
picture  of  his  majesty  should  be  finished  to-day,  ready  to  be 
sent  away  to-morrow,  thus  to  be  neglecting  me  and  your  prom- 
ise! How  can  you  answer  it  to  me  or  to  yourself?'  'Sir,'  said 
I,  'do  not  condemn  me  without  examining  the  easel.  I  have 
finished  the  picture,  please  to  look  at  it.'  He  did  so;  compli- 
mented me  highly;  and  I  had  ample  revenge  for  his  'It  will  do 
well  enough.' ' 

The  following  anecdote,  told  under  nearly  the  same  circum- 
stances, refers  to  a  later  date,  as  Trumbull  is  made  an  actor  in 
the  scene :  — 

"I  used  very  often  to  provoke  my  good  old  master,  though 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

heaven  knows,  without  intending  it.  You  remember  the  color 
closet  at  the  bottom  of  his  painting  room.  One  day  Trumbull 
and  I  came  into  his  room,  and  little  suspecting  that  he  was 
within  hearing,  I  began  to  lecture  on  his  pictures,  and  particu- 
larly upon  one  then  on  his  easel.  I  was  a  giddy  foolish  fellow 
then.  He  had  begun  a  portrait  of  a  child,  and  he  had  a  way  of 
making  curly  hair  by  a  flourish  of  his  brush,  thus,  like  a 
figure  of  three.  'Here,  Trumbull,'  said  I,  'do  you  want  to 
learn  how  to  paint  hair?  There  it  is,  my  boy!  Our  master 
figures  out  a  head  of  hair  like  a  sum  in  arithmetic.  Let  us 
see,  —  we  may  tell  how  many  guineas  he  is  to  have  for  this 
head  by  simple  addition,  —  three  and  three  make  six,  and  three 
are  nine,  and  three  are  twelve  -  '  How  much  the  sum  would 
have  amounted  to  I  can't  tell,  for  just  then  in  stalked  the 
master,  with  palette  knife  and  palette,  and  put  to  flight  my 
calculations.  'Very  well,  Mr.  Stuart,'  said  he,  —  he  always 
mistered  me  when  he  was  angry,  as  a  man's  wife  calls  him  my 
dear  when  she  wishes  him  at  the  devil.  -  'Very  well,  Mr. 
Stuart!  very  well,  indeed!'  You  may  believe  that  I  looked 
foolish  enough,  and  he  gave  me  a  pretty  sharp  lecture  without 
my  making  any  reply.  When  the  head  was  finished  there 
were  no  figures  of  three  in  the  hair." 

Before  Stuart  left  the  roof  of  his  benefactor  and  teacher,  he 
painted  a  full  length  of  his  friend  and  master,  which  attracted 
great  attention  and  elicited  just  admiration.  It  was  exhibited 
at  Somerset  House,  and  the  young  painter  could  not  resist  the 
pleasure  afforded  by  frequent  visits  to  the  exhibition  rooms, 
and  frequent  glances  —  who  can  blame  him?  —  at  the  object 
of  admiration.  It  happened  that  as  he  stood,  surrounded  by 
artists  and  students,  near  his  master's  portrait,  the  original 
came  into  the  rooms  and  joined  the  group.  West  praised  the 
picture,  and  addressing  himself  to  his  pupil,  said,  "You  have 
done  well,  Stuart,  very  well,  now  all  you  have  to  do  —  is  to  go 
home  and  do  better" 

"Stuart  did  not,"  says  Mr.  Fraser,  "describe  the  course  of 
study  recommended  by  Mr.  West,  but  mentioned  an  occasional 
exercise  that  he  required  of  his  pupils  for  giving  them  facility 


METHODS  OF  WORK  215 

and  accuracy  of  execution;  which  was  the  faithful  representa- 
tion of  some  object  or  other,  casually  presented  to  the  eye  — 
such  as  a  piece  of  drapery  thrown  carelessly  over  a  chair  — 
Stuart's  successful  performance  of  one  of  these  tasks  attracted 
the  notice  and  approbation  of  an  eminent  artist,  which  he  said 
were  very  flattering  to  him.  Stuart  had  at  this  time  a  room 
for  painting,  appropriated  to  himself  under  his  master's  roof. 
One  day  a  gentleman  entered,  and  after  looking  around  the 
room,  seated  himself  behind  the  young  painter,  who  was  at 
work  at  his  easel.  The  artist  felt  somewhat  embarrassed,  but 
Mr.  West  soon  after  coming  in,  introduced  the  stranger  as  Mr. 
Dance.  Mr.  West  left  the  room,  but  Mr.  Dance  remained 
and  entered  into  conversation  with  Stuart,  who  ventured  to 
ask  his  opinion  of  his  work,  which  was  a  portrait.  Dance 
replied,  'Young  gentleman,  you  have  done  everything  that 
need  be  done,  your  work  is  very  correct!'  The  young  painter 
was  of  course  delighted  with  the  approbation  of  the  veteran, 
especially  as  he  knew  the  reputation  of  Dance  for  skill,  cor- 
rectness of  eye,  and  blunt  candor.  Mr.  Dance  was  one  of 
those  who  petitioned  the  king  in  1768.  He  was  thought  worthy 
to  be  the  third  on  the  list,  his  name  being  placed  between 
Zuccarelli  and  Wilson.  Stuart  spoke  of  him  with  great  sensi- 
bility, and  said,  that  while  he  was  yet  studying  with  Mr.  West, 
Dance  said  to  him,  'You  are  strong  enough  to  stand  alone  — 
take  rooms  —  those  who  would  be  unwilling  to  sit  to  Mr.  West's 
pupil,  will  be  glad  to  sit  to  Mr.  Stuart.' ' 

Mr.  Neagle,  of  Philadelphia,  gives  us  the  following  anec- 
dote as  received  from  the  artist.  "When  studying  at  Somerset 
House,  in  the  school  of  the  antique,  it  was  proposed  by  his 
fellow  students,  that  each  one  present  should  disclose  his  inten- 
tions, as  to  what  walk  in  art,  and  what  master  he  would  follow. 
The  proposal  was  agreed  to.  One  said  he  preferred  the  gigantic 
Michaelangelo.  Another  would  follow  in  the  steps  of  the 
gentle,  but  divine  Raphael,  the  prince  of  painters;  and  catch, 
if  possible,  his  art  of  composition,  his  expression  and  profound 
knowledge  of  human  passion.  A  third  wished  to  emulate  the 
glow  and  sunshine  of  Titian's  coloring.  Another  had  deter- 


216  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

mined  to  keep  Rembrandt  in  his  eye,  and  like  him  eclipse  all 
other  painters  in  the  chiaroscuro.  Each  was  enthusiastic  in 
the  praise  of  his  favorite  school  or  master.  Stuart's  opinion 
being  demanded,  he  said,  that  he  had  gone  on  so  far  in  merely 
copying  what  he  saw  before  him,  and  perhaps  he  had  not  a 
proper  and  sufficiently  elevated  notion  of  the  art.  But  after 
all  he  had  heard  them  say,  he  could  not  but  adhere  to  his  old 
opinion  on  the  subject.  'For  my  own  part,'  said  he,  'I  will 
not  follow  any  master.  I  wish  to  find  out  what  nature  is  for 
myself,  and  see  her  with  my  own  eyes.  This  appears  to  me  the 
true  road  to  excellence.  Nature  may  be  seen  through  different 
mediums.  Rembrandt  saw  with  a  different  eye  from  Raphael, 
yet  they  are  both  excellent,  but  for  dissimilar  qualities.  They 
had  nothing  in  common,  but  both  followed  nature.  Neither 
followed  in  the  steps  of  a  master.  I  will  do,  in  that,  as  they 
did,  and  only  study  nature.'  While  he  was  speaking,  Gains- 
borough accidentally  came  in,  unobserved  by  him,  and  as 
soon  as  he  ceased,  though  unknown  to  the  speaker,  stepped 
up  to  him,  and  patting  him  on  the  shoulder,  said,  'That's 
right,  my  lad;  adhere  to  that,  and  you'll  be  an  artist.'  ' 

The  lesson  is  very  good,  but  it  is  far  from  being  new.  We 
are  told  by  Pliny,  that  Eupompus  gave  the  same  to  Lysippus. 
Nature  is  to  be  imitated,  and  not  the  artist,  who  has  become 
such  by  imitating  her.  Study  the  original  and  not  the  copy. 

"He  related  to  a  friend  of  mine,"  says  Mr.  Fraser,  "a  little 
incident  that  occurred  while  he  was  with  Mr.  West,  which  is 
sufficiently  interesting  to  be  introduced  in  this  part  of  my  little 
memoir.  Dr.  Johnson  called  one  morning  on  Mr.  West  to 
converse  with  him  on  American  affairs.  After  some  time,  Mr. 
West  said  that  he  had  a  young  American  living  with  him  from 
whom  he  might  derive  some  information,  and  introduced 
Stuart.  The  conversation  continued  (Stuart  being  thus  in- 
vited to  take  a  part  in  it),  —  when  the  doctor  observed  to  Mr. 
West,  that  the  young  man  spoke  very  good  English  —  and 
turning  to  Stuart,  rudely  asked  him  where  he  had  learned  it. 
Stuart  very  promptly  replied,  'Sir,  I  can  better  tell  you  where 


TRUMBULL  TAKES  OFFENSE  217 

I  did  not  learn  it  —  it  was  not  from  your  dictionary.'  Johnson 
seemed  aware  of  his  own  abruptness,  and  was  not  offended." 

While  Trumbull  and  Stuart  were  together  as  pupils  of  Mr. 
West,  Stuart  being  the  senior  student,  and  more  advanced  in 
the  art,  Trumbull  frequently  submitted  his  works  to  him  for 
the  benefit  of  his  remarks.  Stuart  told  Mr.  Sully,  from  whom 
we  derive  the  anecdote,  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  excessively 
puzzled  by  the  drawing,  "and  after  turning  it  this  way  and 
that,  I  observed,  '  Why,  Trumbull,  this  looks  as  if  it  was  drawn 
by  a  man  with  but  one  eye.'  Trumbull  appeared  much  hurt, 
and  said,  'I  take  it  very  unkindly,  sir,  that  you  should  make 
the  remark.'  I  couldn't  tell  what  he  meant,  and  asked  him. 
'I  presume,  sir,'  he  answered,  'that  you  know  I  have  lost 
the  sight  of  one  eye,  and  any  allusion  to  it,  in  this  manner,  is 
illiberal.'  Now  I  never  suspected  it,  and  only  the  oddness  of 
the  drawing  suggested  the  thing."  We  have  heard  from  Stuart's 
companions  in  Boston,  the  same  story,  in  nearly  the  same 
words,  and  when  he  told  it  to  them,  he  went  into  a  long  disser- 
tation on  optics  to  prove  that  a  man,  with  but  the  sight  of 
one  eye,  could  not  possibly  draw  truly.  This  notion  Sully 
thought  perfectly  idle,  and  only  one  of  Stuart's  whims,  who 
could  lecture  most  eloquently  on  any  subject,  from  the  anat- 
omy of  a  man,  to  the  economy  of  his  shoe  tie. 

We  have  thought  proper  to  relate  such  particulars  as  have 
come  to  our  knowledge,  and  such  anecdotes  told  of  the  great 
portrait  painter,  as  are  immediately  connected  with  his  resi- 
dence under  Mr.  West's  roof,  before  following  him  to  his  inde- 
pendent establishment.  He  uniformly  said,  that  nothing  could 
exceed  the  attention  of  that  distinguished  artist  to  him.  And 
when  West  saw  that  he  was  fitted  for  the  field  —  armed  and 
prepared  to  contend  with  the  best  and  the  highest  —  he  advised 
him  to  commence  his  professional  career,  and  pointed  out  the 
road  to  fame  and  fortune. 

We  are  obliged  to  Mr.  Charles  Fraser  for  the  following,  as 
communicated  to  him  by  Mr.  Stuart,  and  with  it  begin  another 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  X. 

STUART  —  Continued. 

"MR.  STUART,"  it  is  Mr.  Fraser  speaks,  "in  pursuance  of 
Mr.  West's  advice,  now  commenced  painting  as  a  professional 
artist.  The  first  picture  that  brought  him  into  notice,  before 
he  left  West's  house,  was  the  portrait  of  a  Mr.  Grant,  a  Scotch 
gentleman,  who  had  applied  to  him  for  a  full  length.  Stuart 
said  that  he  felt  great  diffidence  in  undertaking  a  whole  length; 
but  that  there  must  be  a  beginning,  and  a  day  was  accordingly 
appointed  for  Mr.  Grant  to  sit.  On  entering  the  artist's  room, 
he  regretted  the  appointment,  on  account  of  the  excessive 
coldness  of  the  weather,  and  observed  to  Stuart,  that  the  day 
was  better  suited  for  skating  than  sitting  for  one's  portrait. 
To  this  the  painter  assented,  and  they  both  sallied  out  to  their 
morning's  amusement.  Stuart  said  that  early  practice  had 
made  him  very  expert  in  skating.  His  celerity  and  activity 
accordingly  attracted  crowds  on  the  Serpentine  River  — 
which  was  the  scene  of  their  sport.  His  companion,  although  a 
well-made  and  graceful  man,  was  not  as  active  as  himself;  and 
there  being  a  crack  in  the  ice,  which  made  it  dangerous  to  con- 
tinue their  amusement,  he  told  Mr.  Grant  to  hold  the  skirt  of 
his  coat,  and  follow  him  off  the  field.  They  returned  to  Mr. 
Stuart's  rooms,  where  it  occurred  to  him  to  paint  Mr.  Grant  in 
the  attitude  of  skating,  with  the  appendage  of  a  winter  scene, 
in  the  background.  He  consented,  and  the  picture  was  immedi- 
ately commenced.  During  the  progress  of  it,  Baretti,  the  Italian 
lexicographer,  called  upon  Mr.  West,  one  day,  and  coming 
through  mistake  into  Mr.  Stuart's  room,  where  the  portrait 
was,  then  nearly  finished,  he  exclaimed,  'What  a  charming 
picture!  who  but  that  great  artist,  West,  could  have  painted 
such  a  one!'  Stuart  said  nothing,  and  as  Mr.  West  was  not 
at  home,  Baretti  called  again,  and  coming  into  the  same 

218 


REYNOLDS  AND  STUART  219 

room,  found  Stuart  at  work  upon  the  very  portrait;  'What, 
young  man,  does  Mr.  West  permit  you  to  touch  his  pictures?' 
was  the  salutation.  Stuart  replied  that  the  painting  was  alto- 
gether his  own;  'Why,'  said  Baretti,  forgetting  his  former 
observation,  'it  is  almost  as  good  as  Mr.  West  can  paint.' 

"This  picture  was  exhibited  at  Somerset  House,  and  at- 
tracted so  much  notice,  that  Stuart  said  he  was  afraid  to  go 
to  the  Academy  to  meet  the  looks,  and  answer  the  inquiries 
of  the  multitude.  Mr.  Grant  went  one  day  to  the  exhibition, 
dressed  as  his  portrait  represented  him;  the  original  was  im- 
mediately recognized,  when  the  crowd  followed  him  so  closely 
that  he  was  compelled  to  make  his  retreat,  for  every  one  was 
exclaiming,  'That  is  he,  there  is  the  gentleman.'  Mr.  West 
now  told  Stuart  that  he  might  venture  to  take  rooms.  Re- 
turning one  morning  from  the  exhibition,  he  stopped  at  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds'  residence;  whilst  he  was  looking  at  his 
pictures  (and  here  he  told  me  that  he  had  always  derived 
improvement  from  studying  the  works  of  that  artist),  the  Duke 
of  Rutland  walked  in,  and  passed  from  the  outer  room,  in 
which  Stuart  was,  into  the  next  one,  where  Sir  Joshua  was 
painting;  the  door  was  left  open,  and  Sir  Joshua  being  hard  of 
hearing,  the  Duke  spoke  so  loud,  that  he  was  overheard,  and 
said  to  Sir  Joshua,  'I  wish  you  to  go  to  the  exhibition  with  me, 
for  there  is  a  portrait  there  which  you  must  see,  everybody  is 
enchanted  with  it.'  Sir  Joshua  inquired  who  it  was  painted 
by?  'A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Stuart.'  Stuart  said  that 
he  did  not  remain  to  hear  more.  From  that  time  he  was 
never  at  a  loss  for  employment.  He  spoke  of  another  noble- 
man whom  he  painted,  and  all  his  family.  Mr.  West  was  so 
pleased  with  the  portrait  of  one  of  the  daughters,  that  he 
introduced  her,  from  Stuart's  picture,  into  his  piece,  of  James 
II  landing  in  England.  He  painted  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds' 
portrait,  but  Sir  Joshua  said,  if  that  was  like  him,  he  did  not 
know  his  own  appearance;  which  remark  was  certainly  not 
made  in  the  spirit  of  his  usual  courtesy.  This  picture  was 
painted  about  1784,  and  was  afterwards  in  the  possession  of 
Alderman  Boy  dell.  He  spoke  very  respectfully  of  Sir  Joshua, 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

but  thought  there  was  more  poetry  than  truth  in  his  works. 
He  was  present  one  day  in  a  large  company  with  Dr.  Johnson, 
where  some  person  ventured  to  tell  the  sage,  that  the  public 
had  charged  him,  as  well  as  Mr.  Burke,  with  assisting  Sir 
Joshua  in  the  composition  of  his  lectures.    The  Doctor  ap- 
peared  indignant,    and   replied,    'Sir   Joshua   Reynolds,    sir, 
would  as  soon  get  me  to  paint  for  him  as  to  write  for  him.'  ' 
It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  very  different  style  of  Stuart's 
painting,  from  that  of  the  master  under  whom  he  studied, 
and  whose  works  were  daily  before  him,   and   occasionally 
copied  by  him.  The  pupil  had  directed  his  attention  to  portrait, 
and  the  master  delighted  in  the  higher  branch  of  the  art.   West, 
doubtless,  saw  that  Stuart  was  the  better  portrait  painter; 
and  we  know  that  when  he  saw  the  superiority  of  another,  he 
readily  acknowledged  it.    When  applied  to  for  instruction  by 
an  artist,  now  in  this  city,  he  readily  gave  it,  but  said,  "if 
you  wish  to  study  portrait  painting,  go  to  Sir  Joshua."  Stuart 
spoke  freely  of  his  own  superiority  as  a  portrait  painter,  and 
used  to  say,  half  joke,  half  earnest,  that  "no  man  ever  painted 
history  if  he  could  obtain  employment  in  portraits."   In  con- 
nection with  this  difference  of  opinion  and  of  style,  I  will 
mention  the  following  circumstance  which  took  place  about 
1786,  on  occasion  of  a  visit  to  his  old  master's  house  and 
gallery,   in   Newman   Street.     Trumbull   was  painting  on   a 
portrait  and  the  writer  literally  lending  him  a  hand,  by  sitting 
for  it.    Stuart  came  in  and  his  opinion  was  asked,  as  to  the 
coloring,  which  he  gave  very  much  in  these  words,  "Pretty 
well,  pretty  well,  but  more  like  our  master's  flesh  than  nature's. 
When  Benny  teaches  the  boys,  he  says,  *  yellow  and  white 
there,'  and  he  makes  a  streak,  'red  and  white  there,'  another 
streak,  'blue-black  and  white  there,'  another  streak,  'brown 
and  red  there,  for  a  warm  shadow,'  another  streak,  'red  and 
yellow  there,'  another  streak.    But  nature  does  not  color  in 
streaks.  Look  at  my  hand;  see  how  the  colors  are  mottled  and 
mingled,  yet  all  is  clear  as  silver." 

This  was  and  is  true,  and  yet  Mr.  West's  theory  is  likewise 
true,  however  paradoxical  it  may  appear.   Mr.  West,  perhaps, 


INSIGHT  INTO  CHARACTER  221 

made  too  great  a  distinction  between  the  coloring  appropriate 
to  historical  painting,  and  that  best  suited  to  portrait. 

This  anecdote  we  permitted  to  be  published,  and  it  called 
forth  the  animadversion  of  a  literary  gentleman  who  professes 
both  love  for  and  knowledge  of  the  art  of  painting.  We, 
however,  repeat  it  for  several  reasons.  First,  because  it  is 
true  —  as  is  every  circumstance  we  publish  which  is  given  as 
from  our  own  personal  knowledge.  Every  fact  we  so  state 
defies  contradiction  or  controversy.  Secondly,  it  leads  to  a 
consideration  of  the  systems  of  managing  colors  so  very  op- 
posite by  great  painters.  Stuart,  in  after  life,  as  will  be  seen 
in  these  pages,  gave  the  same  lesson  in  different  words,  to  a 
young  painter,  that  he  gave  to  Trumbull  in  1785  or  '6.  Mr. 
West's  theory  was  true  to  a  certain  extent,  and  a  good  lesson 
for  beginners.  Mr.  West  adopted  what  he  considered  an  his- 
torical style  of  coloring,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  now  it 
is  called  Quakerlike.  Assuredly  Stuart's  theory  for  coloring 
flesh  is  the  best ;  and  we  can  see  no  reason  why  flesh,  in  a  great 
historical  composition,  should  not  be  made  as  true  to  nature 
as  in  a  portrait.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Mr.  West  prac- 
tised in  the  manner  given  as  a  first  lesson  to  a  pupil,  to  the 
extent  implied  by  the  words,  but  that  such  was  his  first  lesson 
at  the  time  of  which  we  speak,  we  know.  Of  the  coloring  of 
Stuart  and  of  Trumbull  there  are  so  many  examples  before 
the  public  that  we  need  not  give  an  opinion.  They  are  as 
unlike  as  possible. 

The  following  anecdote  was  related  to  us  by  Judge  Hop- 
kinson.  Lord  Mulgrave,  whose  name  was  Phipps,  employed 
Stuart  to  paint  the  portrait  of  his  brother,  General  Phipps, 
previous  to  his  going  abroad.  On  seeing  the  picture,  which 
he  did  not  until  it  was  finished,  Mulgrave  exclaimed,  "What 
is  this?  —  this  is  very  strange!"  and  stood  gazing  at  the  por- 
trait. "I  have  painted  your  brother  as  I  saw  him,'1  said  the 
artist.  "I  see  insanity  in  that  face,"  was  the  brother's  remark. 
The  general  went  to  India,  and  the  first  account  his  brother 
had  of  him  was  that  of  suicide  from  insanity.  He  went  'mad 
and  cut  his  throat.  It  is  thus  that  the  real  portrait  painter 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

dives  into  the  recesses  of  his  sitters'  minds,  and  displays  strength 
or  weakness  upon  the  surface  of  his  canvas.  The  mechanic 
makes  a  map  of  a  man. 

The  following  was  told  by  Stuart  to  Mr.  Sully.  "While  I 
was  in  good  practice,  and  some  repute  in  London,  a  stranger 
called  upon  me  and  finding  me  engaged  with  a  sitter,  begged 
permission  to  look  at  my  pictures,  which  was  readily  accorded, 
and  he  passed  some  time  in  my  exhibition  room.  From  his 
shabby  black  dress  and  respectful  politeness,  I  concluded  him 
to  be  some  poet  or  author  from  Grub  Street,  and  made  up  my 
mind  that  the  chief  purpose  of  the  visit  was  to  prepare  some 
article  as  a  puff  for  the  next  periodical.  A  few  days  after  this 
I  received  a  polite  invitation  to  breakfast,  from  the  Earl  of 

• .  And  you  may  judge  of  my  surprise,  when  I  found  in 

my  host  the  supposed  Grub  Street  scribbler.  After  breakfast 
the  earl  complimented  me,  and  expressed  his  satisfaction  with 
what  he  had  seen  at  my  rooms,  and  requested  me  to  receive  a 
commission  from  him,  to  paint  a  list  of  characters,  whose  names 
I  should  find  on  the  paper  he  then  handed  to  me,  the  which  he 
intended  should  decorate  a  new  gallery  he  was  constructing 
on  his  grounds.  The  list  contained  the  names  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished personages  of  the  day,  in  the  political  and  literary 
world,  and  seldom  has  so  splendid  a  denouement  followed 
so  unpromising  a  beginning." 

On  the  subject  of  the  prices  he  had  for  portraits  in  London, 
we  will  repeat  an  anecdote,  told  by  Stuart  to  Mr.  Fraser.  A 
gentleman  called  upon  the  painter,  with  the  intention  of  sitting 
for  his  portrait,  and  having  been  told  five  guineas  for  a  head, 
half  in  advance,  he  retired,  applied  elsewhere,  and  had  two  por- 
traits painted,  but  not  satisfied,  he  returned  to  Mr.  Stuart  after 
a  lapse  of  two  years,  and  found  that  his  price  was  now  thirty 
guineas  a  head.  Upon  being  informed  of  this  he  remonstrated 
with  the  artist,  wishing  to  convince  him  that  he  was  bound  to 
paint  him  at  the  first  mentioned  price.  He  was,  however, 
obliged  to  submit  as  well  to  the  terms,  as  to  the  mortification 
of  paying  for  two  sets  of  portraits. 

Mr.  Stuart  had  his  full  share  of  the  best  business  in  London, 


A  PAYMENT  AT  FIRST  SITTING  223 

and  prices  equal  to  any,  except  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and 
Gainsborough.  Respecting  the  practice  of  demanding  half 
the  price  at  the  first  sitting,  he  told  Mr.  Fraser,  that,  "Lord 
St.  Vincent,  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  and  Colonel  Barre, 
came  unexpectedly  one  morning  into  my  room,  locked  the  door 
and  then  explained  the  intention  of  their  visit."  This  was 
shortly  after  his  setting  up  his  independent  easel.  "They  un- 
derstood," said  Stuart,  "that  I  was  under  pecuniary  embar- 
rassments, and  offered  me  assistance,  which  I  declined.  They 
then  said  they  would  sit  for  their  portraits.  Of  course  I  was 
ready  to  serve  them.  They  then  advised  that  I  should  make 
it  a  rule  that  half  price  must  be  paid  at  the  first  sitting.  They 
insisted  on  setting  the  example,  and  I  followed  the  practice 
ever  after  this  delicate  mode  of  showing  their  friendship. 

"On  the  subject  of  demanding  half  price  at  the  first  sittings," 
Mr.  Fraser  says,  "he  told  me  the  following  anecdote.  A  man 
of  distinction  having  applied  to  him  to  paint  his  portrait,  a  day 
was  appointed,  and  the  first  sitting  taken.  On  the  gentleman's 
preparing  to  leave  the  room,  the  painter  told  him  that  it  was 
his  custom  to  demand  half  price  at  the  first  sitting:  against  this 
the  sitter  warmly  remonstrated,  hoping  that  Mr.  Stuart  had  no 
doubt  of  his  intention  to  pay  for  the  picture  when  finished. 
The  artist  replied,  that  he  had  adopted  it  as  a  rule,  and  must 
continue  to  observe  it,  for  if  it  was  departed  from  in  one  in- 
stance, offence  might  be  justly  taken  by  those  who  had  pre- 
viously complied  with  it.  This  conversation  ended  with  the 
retreat  of  the  gentleman  —  he  not  being  prepared  for  the 
required  ceremony  —  and  he  never  returned  to  sit,  or  to  pay." 

From  a  letter  before  me,  written  by  Mrs.  Hopner,  I  can  state 
the  date  of  Stuart's  first  establishment,  after  leaving  West, 
and  setting  up  for  himself.  The  letter  is  dated  June  3d,  1782: 
"Today  the  exhibition  closes.  If  Hopner  should  be  as  suc- 
cessful next  year  as  he  has  been  this,  he  will  have  established 
a  reputation.  Stuart  has  taken  a  house,  I  am  told,  of  £150 
a  year,  rent,  in  Berner's  street,  and  is  going  to  set  up  as  a 
great  man." 

Stuart  had  that  tact  which  induces  men  to  accommodate 


«24  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

their  conversation,  even  in  the  moment  of  excitement  to  those 
in  whose  company  they  are  thrown.  Doctor  Waterhouse  has 
given  this  testimony  to  his  colloquial  powers.  "In  conversation 
and  confabulation  he  was  inferior  to  no  man  amongst  us.  He 
made  a  point  to  keep  those  talking  who  were  sitting  to  him 
for  then*  portraits,  each  in  their  own  way,  free  and  easy.  This 
called  up  all  his  resources  of  judgment.  To  military  men  he 
spoke  of  battles  by  sea  and  land;  with  the  statesman,  on 
Hume's,  and  Gibbon's  history;  with  the  lawyer,  on  jurispru- 
dence or  remarkable  criminal  trials;  with  the  merchant  in  his 
way;  with  the  man  of  leisure,  in  his  way;  and  with  the  ladies, 
in  all  ways.  When  putting  the  rich  farmer  on  the  canvas,  he 
would  go  along  with  him  from  seed  to  harvest  time,  —  he  would 
descant  on  the  nice  points  of  a  horse  —  ox  —  cow  —  sheep 
or  pig,  and  surprise  him  with  his  just  remarks  in  the  progress 
of  making  cheese  and  butter,  or  astonish  him  with  his  profound 
knowledge  of  manures,  or  the  food  of  plants.  As  to  national 
character,  and  individual  character,  few  men  could  say  more  to 
the  purpose,  as  far  as  history  and  acute  personal  observation 
would  carry  him.  He  had  wit  at  will.  Always  ample,  some- 
times redundant." 

From  the  consideration  of  the  finer,  we  will  take  a  glance 
at  the  grosser  material,  which  the  artist  employed  to  represent 
mind,  as  well  as  body,  on  his  panel  or  his  canvas.  And  first 
his  palette. 

A  painter's  palette  is  either  the  piece  of  wood  with  a  hole  in 
it  for  his  thumb  and  a  convenient  recess  for  his  brushes,  or  it 
is  the  colors  with  which  this  utensil  is  furnished,  or  such  pig- 
ments as  his  knowledge  and  taste  induce  him  to  use.  The 
word  taste  probably  indicates  the  origin  of  the  name  given  to 
this  necessary  piece  of  limning  furniture,  and  to  the  tints,  with 
which  the  artist  covers  it. 

Stuart's  palette  (in  the  sense  we  have  first  used  the  word), 
was  a  small  oval.  Showing  it  on  one  occasion  to  the  writer, 
he  said,  that  he  valued  it  highly  as  having  belonged  to  Dance, 
and  still  more,  that  it  was  a  present  from  that  excellent  artist. 

Speaking  on  the  same  subject  to  Mr.  Charles  Fraser,  Stuart 


GIFT  FROM  DANCE'S  STUDIO  225 

said,  that  a  short  time  after  he  had  taken  rooms,  in  London, 
subsequent  to  leaving  Mr.  West,  when  he  was  commencing 
his  successful  career  as  a  portrait  painter,  Mr.  Dance  (whose 
approbation  and  advice  we  have  above  mentioned),  called 
upon  him  and  communicated  his  intention  of  retiring  into  the 
country,  at  the  same  time  inviting  him  to  come  to  his  house, 
and  take  such  articles  in  the  way  of  his  profession  as  would  be 
serviceable  to  him  —  that  as  he  was  just  commencing,  he  would 
find  ready  at  his  hands  many  things  that  he  would  have 
occasion  for.  Stuart  happening  to  call  in  the  absence  of  his 
friend,  merely  took  a  palette  and  a  few  pencils.  Mr.  Dance,  a 
day  or  two  before  the  sale  of  his  furniture,  inquired  of  his 
servant  if  Mr.  Stuart  had  been  there.  And  being  informed  that 
he  had,  and  of  the  moderation  he  had  shown  in  availing  himself 
of  the  offer  made,  immediately  sent  him  a  mass  of  material  for 
his  painting  room,  not  only  in  the  highest  degree  useful  but 
far  more  costly  than  his  finances  could  have  afforded  at  that 
time.  The  palette,  Mr.  Dance  afterward  informed  him,  was 
the  one  formerly  possessed  and  used  by  Hudson. 

"Mr.  Stuart,"  says  Mr.  Fraser,  "made  this  exhibition  of  his 
palette  doubly  interesting,  by  a  short  dissertation  on  the  use  of 
it,  describing  the  colors  employed  by  him  for  portrait  painting, 
with  their  several  gradations.  This  was  done  at  my  request 
with  a  readiness  and  freedom  characteristic  of  great  liberality 
and  kindness."  * 

*  In  the  year  1813,  the  writer,  who  as  a  youth  had  known  Stuart  in  London,  from 
1784  to  1787,  visited  Boston,  and  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  the  great  portrait 
painter.  On  one  occasion,  having  shown  him  a  miniature  he  had  recently  painted, 
Stuart  advised  him  to  paint  in  oil,  adding,  "You  painted  in  oil  when  in  London." 
"Yes,  but  after  having  abandoned  the  pencil  for  twenty  years,  I  found  it  easier  to 
make  an  essay  with  water  colors  on  ivory,  and  in  little  than  to  paint  portraits  in  large 
with  oil.  I  do  not  know  how  to  set  a  palette."  "It  is  very  simple,"  said  he,  "I  will  show 
you  in  five  minutes,"  and  he  pointed  out  on  his  own  palette  the  unmingled  colors,  and 
their  tints  as  mixed  with  white  or  each  other;  first,  and  nearest  the  thumb,  pure  white, 
then  yellow,  vermilion,  black  and  blue.  Then  followed  yellow  and  white  in  gradation; 
vermilion  and  white  in  gradations;  black  and  yellow  —  black  and  vermilion;  black, 
vermilion,  and  white  in  several  gradations;  black  and  white;  and,  blue  and  white. 
"  And  for  finishing,  add  lake  to  your  palette,  and  asphaltum."  Later  in  life,  when  he 
lived  on  Fort  Hill,  Boston,  he  gave  me  another  setting  of  the  palette.  This  was  in  1822. 
I  passed  the  morning  with  him,  and  sat  for  the  hands  of  Mr.  Perkins's  picture,  for  the 
Athenaeum  of  which  he  was  the  munificent  endower.  The  palette  Stuart  then  worked 
with,  as  he  pointed  it  out  to  me,  was  Antwerp  blue  —  Krem's  white  —  vermilion  — 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

We  have  followed  Mr.  Stuart's  eccentric  course  until  we 
have  brought  him  to  the  highest  seat  a  portrait  painter  wishes 
to  fill  —  that  of  a  fashionable  and  leading  artist  in  the  great 
metropolis,  where  portrait  painting  has  been  carried  to  its 
highest  perfection.  In  1784,  and  the  years  immediately  succeed- 
ing, I  saw  the  half  lengths,  and  full  lengths  of  Stuart  occupying 
the  best  lights,  and  most  conspicuous  places  at  the  annual 
exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Academy. 

From  the  commencement  of  his  independent  establishment 
as  a  portrait  painter  in  London,  success  attended  him;  but  he 
was  a  stranger  to  prudence.  He  lived  in  splendor,  and  was  the 
gayest  of  the  gay.  As  he  has  said  of  himself,  he  was  a  great 
beau.  I  cannot  assert,  but  feel  perfectly  convinced  that  pecuni- 
ary difficulties  induced  him  to  leave  London  for  Dublin,  to 
which  latter  city,  his  daughter,  Miss  Ann  Stuart,  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  James  Herring,  says  he  was  invited  by  the  Duke  of 
Rutland,  and  that  on  the  day  he  arrived,  the  duke  was  buried. 

There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  Stuart's  total  want  of 

stone-ocher  —  lake  —  Van  Dyke  brown,  mixed  with  one-third  burnt  umber  —  ivory 
black.  The  tints  he  mixed  were  white  and  yellow  —  vermilion  and  white  —  white, 
yellow,  and  vermilion  —  vermilion  and  lake  —  (each  deeper  than  the  other),  then  blue 
and  white  —  black  and  yellow  —  black,  vermilion  and  lake.  Asphaltum  in  finishing. 
Let  us  here  add,  that  Reynolds  recommended  for  the  first  and  second  sittings  of  a 
portrait,  only  white,  yellow,  vermilion,  and  black,  for  the  flesh.  This,  of  course,  was 
after  he  had  been  reconciled  to  vermilion,  and  dismissed  the  lake  and  yellow,  which 
he  once  substituted  for  it. 

When  I  asked  Stuart  if  he  used  madder-lake,  his  reply  was,  "I  should  be  madder  if 
I  did."  This  was  merely  to  play  upon  the  word,  for  like  many  I  have  known  the 
jack-o'lantern  of  a  pun,  or  a  witticism,  would  draw  him  from  the  straight  and  firm 
path.  "Good  woman,  I  saw  a  man  go  in  your  cellar  —  the  door  is  open."  "What  does 
he  want  there?  —  the  impudent  fellow."  The  good  dame  runs  to  her  cellar,  and  finds 
the  vegetable  she  had  bought  for  pickling.  "Mr.  Stuart,  this  is  the  greatest  likeness 
I  ever  saw."  "Draw  aside  that  curtain,  and  you  will  see  a  greater."  "There's  no 
picture  here!"  "But  there's  a  grater."  In  the  same  spirit,  he  would  make  himself  the 
hero  of  a  story,  purely  imaginary,  for  the  sake  of  a  quibble,  a  point,  or  a  pun.  Such  is 
the  following,  "  When  I  first  came  to  England,  my  clothing  was  half  a  century  behind 
the  fashion,  and  I  was  told,  '  Now  you  are  in  England,  you  must  dress  yourself  as  the 
English  do.'  'Next  morning  I  presented  myself  with  my  stockings  drawn  over  my 
shoes,  and  my  waistcoat  over  my  coat.  Then  the  cry  was,  'Boy,  are  you  mad?'  'You 
told  me  to  dress  as  the  English  do,  and  they  always  say,  —  put  on  your  shoes  and 
stockings  —  put  on  your  coat  and  waistcoat  —  so  I  have  followed  the  direction.'  " 
He  has  even  told  this  as  happening  in  Mr.  West's  house.  Such  are  the  wanderings  of 
wit.  But  of  a  departure  from  truth  for  any  purpose  of  injuring  the  character  of  another, 
we  never  heard  Gilbert  Stuart  accused:  men  of  supposed  honor  have  done  it  —  yet 
truth  is  indispensable  to  honor. 


A  CENSURABLE  TRANSACTION  227 

prudence,  or  extreme  negligence  and  extravagance,  had  placed 
him  in  that  situation,  which  induces  men 

"To  do  such  deeds,  as  make  the  prosperous  man 
Lift  up  his  hands,  and  wonder  who  could  do  them!" 

The  following  was  told  to  the  writer  by  Joel  Barlow,  who 
with  his  wife,  was  intimate  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  West,  and  re- 
ceived the  anecdote  from  them.  As  it  is  my  maxim,  that  biog- 
raphy should  be  truth,  and  every  man  who  calls  public  atten- 
tion to  himself,  should  be  truly  represented,  and  thus  abide  the 
reward  of  his  actions;  that  which  comes  to  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge respecting  the  subject  whose  life  and  character  is  under 
consideration,  and  is  probable  from  circumstances  connected 
with  the  individual,  known  to  be  true,  should  be  laid  before  the 
public,  the  authority  for  the  related  circumstance  being  given. 
When  biography  is  mere  eulogium,  it  must  be,  generally  speak- 
ing, falsehood;  unless  the  subject  is  more  than  mortal.  It  was 
in  the  year  1806,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  that,  when  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barlow  at  their  lodgings,  he  showed  me  the 
proof  impressions  of  the  plates,  which  Robert  Fulton  had  pro- 
cured to  be  engraved  for  the  "Columbiad."  Conversation  on 
pictures,  led  to  painters,  and  Barlow  gave  the  following  from 
Mr.  West.  He  said  that  Stuart,  professing  great  esteem  and 
much  gratitude  towards  Mr.  and  Mrs.  West  (which  no  doubt 
he  felt),  painted  a  very  fine  portrait  of  the  former,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  the  latter.  The  picture  was  much  admired  and 
highly  valued.  Not  long  before  leaving  England,  Stuart  bor- 
rowed the  picture  from  Mrs.  West,  to  make  some  suggested 
alterations,  and  it  was  sent  to  1pm.  The  reader  may  judge  of 
Mr.  West's  surprise,  when  he  saw  this  picture  at  Alderman 
BoydelFs,  and  was  told  that  Stuart  had  sold  it  to  him.  West 
claimed  his  property,  and  Boydell  lost  his  money.  From  Lon- 
don, Stuart,  as  we  have  seen,  went  to  Dublin,  and  it  is  probable 
that  English  claims  followed  him  to  the  capital  of  Ireland.  It 
was  currently  said,  but  I  can  give  no  voucher  except  proba- 
bility, that,  being  lodged  in  jail  by  some  of  his  creditors,  he 
there  set  up  his  easel,  and  was  followed  by  those  who  wanted 
portraits  from  his  hand.  He  began  the  pictures  of  a  great  many 


228  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

nobles,  and  men  of  wealth  and  fashion,  received  hah*  price  at 
the  first  sitting,  accumulated  enough  to  enfranchise  himself, 
and  left  the  Irish  lordships  and  gentry  imprisoned  in  effigy. 
We  will  suppose,  that  having  thus  liberated  himself,  and  there 
being  no  law  that  would  justify  the  jailer  in  holding  the  half- 
finished  peers  in  prison,  the  painter  fulfilled  his  engagement 
more  at  his  ease  at  his  own  house,  and  in  the  bosom  of  his  own 
family;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  Irish  gentlemen  laughed 
heartily  at  the  trick,  and  willingly  paid  the  remainder  of  the 
price.  It  is  likewise  probable  that  when  Stuart  borrowed  the 
full  length  of  West,  he  borrowed  it  only  to  improve  it;  and 
when  he  sold  it  to  Boydell  that  he  meant  to  replace  it  with 
another  —  this  is  no  excuse,  for  no  circumstance  or  intention 
can  excuse  falsehood. 

Previous  to  leaving  England,  Mr.  Stuart  married  the  daugh- 
ter of  Doctor  Coates.1  This  event  according  to  Miss  Stuart, 
took  place  in  1786.  She  says,  he  arrived  in  Dublin  in  1788,  and 
notwithstanding  the  loss  of  his  friendly  inviter,  he  met  with 
great  success,  "painted  most  of  the  nobility,  and  lived  in  a  good 
deal  of  splendor.  The  love  for  his  own  country,  and  his  admira- 
tion of  General  Washington,  and  the  very  great  desire  he  had 
to  paint  his  portrait,  was  his  only  inducement  to  turn  his  back 
on  his  good  fortune  in  Europe." 

In  the  "  London  Magazine,"  it  is  said,  that  Stuart  made  a 
sketch  of  the  celebrated  Mr.  Henderson,  in  the  character  of 
lago,  which  was  engraved  by  Bartolozzi. 


1  Charlotte  Coates  of  Berkshire,  England. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

STUART  —  Concluded.     EARL  —  CAMPBELL. 

IN  the  year  1793  Mr.  Stuart  embarked  for  his  return  to  his 
native  country,  and  had  for  his  companion  an  Irish  gentleman 
of  the  name  of  Robertson,  a  miniature  painter  elsewhere 
noticed  in  these  pages.  It  is  well  known  that  Stuart's  passions 
and  appetites  were  of  the  kind  said  to  be  uncontrollable  — 
that  is,  they  were  indulged  when  present  danger  or  inconven- 
ience did  not  forbid  —  as  is  the  case  with  all  men  who  plead 
temper  as  an  excuse  for  folly.  On  the  passage  from  Dublin 
to  New  York,  he  frequently  quarrelled  with  Robertson,  and 
when  under  the  influence  of  the  devil  who  steals  men's  brains 
if  permitted  to  enter  their  mouths,  he  insulted  the  Hibernian 
grossly.  To  stop  this,  Robertson  left  the  dinner  table,  after 
receiving  his  share  of  the  wine,  and  what  he  thought  an  undue 
share  of  hard  words,  and  going  to  his  trunk  returned  with  a 
brace  of  pistols  loaded  and  primed,  and  insisted  upon  an  apol- 
ogy or  a  shot  across  the  table.  The  devil  was  put  to  flight,  and 
returning  reason,  the  captain's  good  offices,  and  the  peace- 
maker "if,"  restored  harmony  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage. 

Stuart  landed  at  and  took  up  his  abode  for  some  months  in 
New  York.  Here  he  favored  the  renowned,  the  rich,  and  the 
fashionable,  by  exercising  his  skill  for  their  gratification;  and 
gave  present  6clat  and  a  short-lived  immortality  in  exchange 
for  a  portion  of  their  wealth.  He  opened  an  atelier  in  Stone 
Street,  near  William  Street,  where  all  who  admired  the  art  or 
wished  to  avail  themselves  of  the  artist's  talents,  daily  resorted. 
It  appeared  to  the  writer  as  if  he  had  never  seen  portraits 
before,  so  decidedly  was  form  and  mind  conveyed  to  the  can- 
vas; and  yet  Stuart's  portraits  were  incomparably  better,  ten, 
twenty,  and  thirty  years  after.  Many  of  his  portraits  were 
copied  in  miniature  by  Walter  Robertson,  who  had  come  to 

229 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

America  with  him,  and  who,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  artists 
of  the  same  patronymic  appellation,  was  called  Irish  Robert- 
son. Some  of  this  gentleman's  celebrity  was  owing  to  the 
accuracy  of  Stuart's  portraits;  for  the  ignorant  in  the  art 
transfer  without  hesitation  the  merit  of  the  original  painter  to 
the  copyist. 

In  New  York,  as  elsewhere,  the  talents  and  acquirements 
of  Mr.  Stuart  introduced  him  to  the  intimate  society  of  all  who 
were  distinguished  by  office,  rank  or  attainment;  and  his  ob- 
serving mind  and  powerful  memory  treasured  up  events,  char- 
acters and  anecdotes,  which  rendered  his  conversation  an  in- 
exhaustible fund  of  amusement  and  information  to  his  sitters, 
and  his  companions.  Of  the  many  fine  portraits  he  painted  at 
this  time  we  remember  more  particularly  those  of  the  Pollock 
and  Yates  family;  Sir  John  Temple,  and  some  of  his  family; 
the  Hon.  John  Jay;  General  Matthew  Clarkson;  John  R. 
Murray,  and  Colonel  Giles. 

From  New  York  the  artist  proceeded  to  Philadelphia,1  for 
the  purpose,  so  near  his  heart,  of  painting  a  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington. In  this  he  succeeded  fully:  but  this  is  an  event  in  his 
life  on  which  we  must  enlarge  in  proportion  to  its  interest 
with  us  and  all  Americans.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  art- 
ist's pencil  was  kept  in  constant  employ  in  the  city  of  Penn 
and  its  neighborhood.  He  attracted  the  same  attention,  and 
rendered  the  same  services,  enriching  individuals  by  his  graphic 
skill  with  pictures  beyond  price,  and  his  country  by  models 
for  future  painters  to  study.  He  left  us  the  features  of  those 
who  have  achieved  immortality  for  themselves,  and  made 
known  others  who  would  but  for  his  art  have  slept  in  their 
merited  obscurity. 

Mr.  Stuart  took  to  Philadelphia  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  John 
Jay  to  the  first  president  of  the  United  States,  the  illustrious 
Washington.  The  reader  will  recollect  that  Congress  had 
before  1794,  removed  from  New  York,  and  that  Philadelphia 
was  at  this  time  the  seat  of  federal  government.  Stuart  had 
long  been  familiar  with  the  aristocracy  of  Europe,  the  artificial 

1  Stuart  went  to  Philadelphia  late  in  1794,  remaining  until  1803. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  WASHINGTON  231 

great,  the  hereditary  lords  of  the  land,  and  rulers  of  the  desti- 
nies of  nations;  but  it  appears  from  the  following  account  of 
his  first  introduction  to  Washington,  as  given  in  conversation 
with  an  eminent  artist  of  our  country,  that,  although  at 
his  ease  with  dukes  and  princes,  Stuart  was  awed  into  a  loss 
of  his  self-possession  in  the  presence  of  him,  who  was  ennobled 
by  his  actions,  and  placed  in  authority  by  the  gratitude  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  and  their  confidence  in  his  wisdom  and  virtues. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia  Mr.  Stuart  called  on 
the  president,  and  left  Mr.  Jay's  letter  and  his  own  card. 
Some  short  time  after,  having  passed  a  day  in  the  country, 
upon  his  return  he  found  a  note  from  Mr.  Dandridge,  the 
private  secretary,  inviting  him  to  pass  that  evening  with  the 
president.  He  went  accordingly,  and  on  entering  a  large 
room  (which  he  did  carelessly,  believing  it  to  be  an  anti- 
chamber),  he  did  not  distinguish  one  person  from  another  of 
the  company  he  found  there.  But  the  president,  from  a  distant 
corner  of  the  room,  left  a  group  of  gentlemen,  with  whom  he 
had  been  conversing,  came  up  to  Mr.  Stuart  and  addressed 
him  by  name  (probably  some  one  who  knew  Stuart  pointed 
him  out  to  the  president),  and,  finding  his  guest  much  embar- 
rassed, he  entered  into  easy  conversation  with  him  until  he 
recovered  himself.  The  president  then  introduced  him  to  the 
company.  This  incident  I  give  from  the  artist  to  whom  Stuart 
related  the  circumstance. 

In  this  year,  1794,  Stuart  painted  his  first  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington. Not  satisfied  with  the  expression,  he  destroyed  it, 
and  the  president  consented  to  sit  again.  In  the  second  por- 
trait he  was  eminently  successful.  He  painted  it  on  a  three- 
quarter  canvas,  but  only  finished  the  head.  WTien  last  I  saw 
this,  the  only  faithful  portrait  of  the  father  of  our  country,  it 
hung,  without  frame,  on  the  door  of  the  artist's  painting  room, 
at  his  house  on  Fort  Hill,  Boston.  This  beautiful  image  of 
the  mind,  as  well  as  features  of  Washington,  was  offered  to  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  by.  the  artist,  for  one  thousand  dollars, 
which  they  refused  to  give.  Those  entrusted  with  our  national 
government  passed  by  the  opportunity  of  doing  honor  to 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

themselves  during  the  life  of  a  man  they  could  not  honor, 
and  the  only  portrait  of  Washington  was  left  neglected  in  the 
painter's  workship,  until  the  Boston  Athenaeum  purchased  it 
of  his  widow.  It  now  (together  with  its  companion  the  por- 
trait of  Mrs.  Washington)  adorns  one  of  the  rooms  of  that 
institution.1 

Stuart  has  said  that  he  found  more  difficulty  attending  the 
attempt  to  express  the  character  of  Washington  on  his  canvas 
than  in  any  of  his  efforts  before  or  since.  It  is  known  that  by 
his  colloquial  powers,  he  could  draw  out  the  minds  of  his 
sitters  upon  that  surface  he  was  tasked  to  represent;  and  such 
was  always  his  aim.  But  Washington's  mind  was  busied 
within.  During  the  sitting  for  the  first  mentioned  portrait, 
Stuart  could  not  find  a  subject,  although  he  tried  many,  that 
could  elicit  the  expression  he  knew  must  accord  with  such 
features  and  such  a  man.  He  was  more  fortunate  in  the  second 
attempt,  and  probably  not  only  had  more  self-possession,  but 
had  inspired  his  sitter  with  more  confidence  in  him,  and  a 
greater  disposition  to  familiar  conversation. 

During  his  residence  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Stuart  painted 
the  full  length  of  the  president,  for  Lord  Landsdowne.2  It  has 
been  said  that  his  lordship  was  indebted  to  the  persuasions  of 
Mrs.  Bingham,  of  Philadelphia,  for  this  favor.  This  picture 
is  in  England,  and  is  the  original  of  that  vile  engraving  from 
the  atelier  of  Heath,  which  is  unfortunately  spread  through- 
out our  country,  a  libel  upon  Stuart  and  Washington.  Our 
fellow  citizen  Durand,  is  now  employed  in  engraving  from  the 
inestimable  portrait  possessed  by  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  will  have  an  opportunity  of 
knowing  from  his  print,  when  published,  how  they  have  been 
misled  in  their  ideas  of  the  countenance  of  the  man  they  most 
revere. 

1  The  portrait  of  Washington  known  as  the  "Athenaeum  Portrait"  was  painted  in 
1796.  It  is  now  (1917)  deposited  in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  by  the  Boston 
Athenaeum. 

*  The  original  "Landsdowne  portrait"  is  in  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the  Fine 
Arts  at  Philadelphia  and  is  signed  and  dated  1796.  A  replica  is  owned  by  the  Earl  of 
Rosebery. 


THE  GREAT  WASHINGTON  PORTRAIT  233 

Germantown  was  the  painter's  place  of  residence  at  the 
period  Washington  retired  from  office,  and  he  rode  out  and 
visited  him  at  that  place  —  a  spot  so  well  known  to  the  hero 
during  his  military  career.  When  the  president  took  his 
leave,  he  told  Stuart  that  he  would  sit  to  him  again  at  any 
time  he  wished.  None  but  those  who  know  how  much  this 
great  man  had  undergone  from  the  solicitations  of  painters, 
can  truly  appreciate  the  value  of  this  compliment  to  the  artist. 

The  following  communication  relative  to  the  portraits  of 
General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Neagle. 
After  saying  that  as  well  as  he  could  remember,  Stuart  related 
the  circumstances  nearly  in  these  words,  he  proceeds:  "Mrs. 
Washington  called  often  to  see  the  general's  portrait,  and  was 
desirous  to  possess  the  painting."  (This  was  the  original 
picture  of  which  the  head  only  was  finished,  and  from  which 
Stuart  made  his  copies.)  "One  day  she  called  with  her  hus- 
band, and  begged  to  know  when  she  might  have  it.  The 
general  himself  never  pressed  it,  but  on  this  occasion,  as  he 
and  his  lady  were  about  to  retire,  he  returned  to  Mr.  Stuart 
and  said  he  saw  plainly  of  what  advantage  the  picture  was  to 
the  painter  (who  had  been  constantly  employed  in  copying 
it,  and  Stuart  had  said  he  could  not  work  so  well  from  another) ; 
he  therefore  begged  the  artist  to  retain  the  painting  at  his 
pleasure.  Mr.  Stuart  told  me  one  day  when  we  were  before 
this  original  portrait,  that  he  never  could  make  a  copy  of  it 
to  satisfy  himself,  and  that  at  last,  having  made  so  many 
he  worked  mechanically  and  with  little  interest.  The  last 
one  I  believe  ever  made  by  him,  was  for  Mr.  Robert  Gilmor, 
of  Baltimore.  I  asked  him  if  he  ever  intended  to  finish  the 
coat  and  background  of  the  original  picture?  To  this  he  re- 
plied, 'No:  and  as  this  is  the  only  legacy  I  can  leave  to  my 
family,  I  will  let  it  remain  untouched.'  '  (Meaning  that  it 
would  be,  as  is  true,  more  valuable  as  it  came  from  his  hand 
in  the  presence  of  the  sitter,  than  it  would  be  if  painted  upon 
at  this  late  period;  for  by  painting  upon,  it  would  be  more  or 
less  altered.)  $jft 

"Mr.  Stuart"   (we  again  copy  Mr.  Neagle),  "considered 


«34  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

that  every  painter  held  an  inherent  copyright  in  his  own 
works,  and  that  they  should  not  be  copied  without  the  consent 
of  the  artist.  A  copy  made  of  an  artist's  picture  while  he 
lived,  and  without  his  consent,  he  called  'pirating.'  A  portrait 
painter  of  the  name  of  Parker  had  applied  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Academy  for  the  privilege  to  copy  Stuart's  full  length  of 
Washington,  which  is  on  the  walls  of  that  institution;  but  as 
the  picture  belonged  to  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Bingham,  the  ap- 
plication was  refused  by  Mr.  Hopkinson,  the  president  of 
the  academy.  Mr.  Sully  was  consulted,  and  he  thought  that 
Mr.  Stuart's  permission  should  first  be  obtained.  When  I 
arrived  in  Boston  (in  1825),  Mr.  Stuart  had  just  received  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Parker,  and  handed  it  to  me  to  read  aloud  to 
him.  It  was  an  application  to  him  for  the  opportunity  of  copy- 
ing the  full  length  'Washington,'  but  it  was  couched  in  terms  that 
offended  the  painter.  He  made  some  severe  remarks  upon  the 
writer;  among  other  things  he  said,  'It  I  am  not  much  mistaken, 
this  man  has  not  the  essentially  requisite  feelings  for  a  good 
artist.'  His  reply  he  entrusted  to  me  for  Mr.  Hopkinson,  the 
president  of  the  academy.  It  was  a  denial.  He  said,  'I  am 
pleased  that  Mr.  Hopkinson  has  referred  the  question  to  me, 
it  is  what  I  would  expect  from  him.  My  answer  will  be  found 
in  a  number  of  the  "  Spectator,"  mentioning  it,  and  my  feelings 
understood,  by  referring  to  that  paper:  the  only  difference  is, 
that  Addison  speaks  of  pirating  the  works  of  an  author.  Sub- 
stitute for  author  the  word  painter.'  One  Sunday  morning  Mr. 
Stuart  opened  the  '  Spectator'  while  Mr.  George  Brimmer,  Mr. 
Isaac  P.  Davis  and  myself  were  with  him,  and  had  this  paper 
read  aloud." 

With  a  knowledge  of  such  feelings  and  opinions,  the  reader 
may  judge  of  the  painter's  reception  of  a  proposal  made  in  the 
following  manner:  "When  I  lived  at  Germantown,"  said 
Stuart,  "a  little,  pert  young  man  called  on  me,  and  addressed 
me  thus,  —  'You  are  Mr.  Stuart,  sir,  the  great  painter!'  'My 
name  is  Stuart,  sir.'  '  Those  who  remember  Mr.  Stuart's 
athletic  figure,  quiet  manner,  sarcastic  humor,  and  uncom- 
mon face,  can  alone  imagine  the  picture  he  would  have  made 


AN  IMPUDENT  SWINDLER  235 

as  the  intruder  proceeded:  —  "  'My  name  is  Winstanley,  sir; 
you  must  have  heard  of  me.'  'Not  that  I  recollect,  sir,'  'No! 
Well,  Mr.  Stuart,  I  have  been  copying  your  full  length  of 
Washington;  I  have  made  a  number  of  copies;  I  have  now 
six  that  I  have  brought  on  to  Philadelphia;  I  have  got  a  room 
in  the  State  House,  and  I  have  put  them  up;  but  before  I  show 
them  to  the  public,  and  offer  them  for  sale,  I  have  a  proposal 
to  make  to  you.'  'Go  on,  sir.'  'It  would  enhance  their  value, 
you  know,  if  I  could  say  that  you  had  given  them  the  last 
touch.  Now,  sir,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  ride  to  town,  and 
give  each  of  them  a  tap,  you  know,  with  your  riding  switch  — 
just  thus,  you  know.'  ' 

Stuart,  who  had  been  feeding  his  capacious  nostrils  with 
Scotch  snuff,  shut  the  box,  and  deliberately  placed  it  on  the 
table.  Winstanley  proceeded,  "  'And  we  will  share  the  amount 
of  the  sale.'  'Did  you  ever  hear  that  I  was  a  swindler?'  'Sir! 
—  Oh,  you  mistake.  You  know  -  The  painter  rose  to  his 
full  height.  'You  will  please  to  walk  down  stairs,  sir,  very 
quickly,  or  I  shall  throw  you  out  at  the  window.'  '  The 
genius  would  have  added  another  "you  know";  but  seeing 
that  the  action  was  likely  to  be  suited  to  the  word,  he  took  the 
hint,  and  preferred  the  stairs. 

Stuart  continued  the  story  of  Winstanley  and  his  'Washing- 
tons,'  by  saying,  that  one  of  these  pirated  copies  was  the  cause 
of  his  being  employed  to  paint  the  full  length  of  Washington, 
which  adorns  Faneuil  Hall:1  a  picture  which,  in  my  opinion, 
speaking  from  recollection,  is  the  best  portrait  of  the  hero, 
with  the  exception  of  the  head  purchased  by  the  Athenaeum, 
ever  painted.  If  so,  Boston  possesses  in  her  public  buildings, 
the  two  most  perfect  representations  of  the  father  of  his  country 
that  are  in  existence.  Stuart  told  our  friend  Fraser  that  he 
painted  this  picture  in  nine  days.  Certainly,  it  is  in  one  sense, 
a  nine  davs'  wonder.  The  circumstances  which  led  to  it  he 


1  The  portrait  of  "Washington  at  Dorchester  Heights"  belonging  to  the  city  of 
Boston  and  now  (1917)  deposited  in  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  was  painted 
in  nine  days  in  1806.  There  is  a  copy  by  Jane  Stuart,  the  daughter  of  the  artist,  in 
Faneuil  Hall. 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

thus  narrated,  after  telling  the  anecdote  of  Winstanley's  visit 
to  German  town. 

"One  of  these  full-length  Washingtons,  which  only  wanted 
a  magic  touch  from  my  finger,  my  maul-stick,  or  my  riding 
whip,  was  brought  to  Boston  by  the  manufacturer,  who  like- 
wise brought  letters  of  introduction  to  our  great  men,  and 

among  others  to  Mr. ,  a  rich  merchant  and  devoted 

Federalist,  it  being  then  warm  party  times.  In  this  gentle- 
man's family  and  society  the  little  Englishman  made  himself 
agreeable  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  borrowed  five  hundred 
dollars  of  the  merchant,  offering  as  security  my  full-length 
portrait  of  Washington  painted  by  himself,  as  you  may  sup- 
pose; but  that  could  not  be  seen  by  the  connoisseur  of  the 
counting  house.  The  money  was  lent,  the  picture  received  as 
security,  and  the  swindler  never  seen  more.  After  a  time  the 
precious  deposit  was  offered  for  sale,  as  Stuart's  '  Washington.' 
The  real  connoisseurs  laughed,  and  the  merchant  found  he  was 
bit.  It  would  not  do  for  the  Boston  market,  so  he  sent  it  by 
one  of  his  argosies  to  foreign  parts,  but  it  returned  again  and 
again  unsold,  and,  like  some  other  travellers,  unimproved.  It 
would  not  pass  for  Stuart's  'Washington'  with  any  one  but 
himself.  At  length,  he  determined  to  show  his  patriotism  and 
present  it  to  the  town,  which  was  done  in  all  due  form.  In 
the  meantime  I  had  removed  to  this  place  (Boston).  The 
picture  had  been  put  up  in  Faneuil  Hall.  A  town  meeting 
had  been  called  on  political  affairs,  and  federalists  and  demo- 
crats were  arrayed  in  bitter  hostility  in  the  hall,  when  one  of 
the  democratic  orators  seized  on  the  opportunity  for  attacking 
his  opponents,  by  exposing  the  mock  generosity  of  the  federal 
merchant,  and  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  audience,  told 
the  story  of  the  picture,  exposed  its  worthlessness,  and  related 
its  adventures.  The  effect  was  electrical,  and  spread  through 
the  town.  The  connoisseur  was  pointed  at  and  almost  hooted 
by  the  boys.  What  was  to  be  done?  His  friends  suggested 
his  defence,  'He  had  been  deceived,  he  thought  it  a  real  Simon- 
pure.  There  was  no  crime  in  not  being  a  judge  of  painting, 
and  to  show  his  generosity,  he  must  apply  to  Stuart  to  paint  a 


THE  BEST  OF  A  BAD  BARGAIN  237 

"Washington"  for  the  town.'  This  was  a  bitter  pill.  'How 
much  would  it  cost?'  'Six  hundred  dollars  perhaps.'  'Five 
and  six  are  eleven.'  'Something  must  be  done,  and  quickly.' 
'But  how  can  I  call  on  Mr.  Stuart  after  this  affair  —  he  may 
insult  me.'  'We  will  negotiate  the  matter.'  I  was  called  upon 
by  Mr.  's  friends,  and  to  the  proposal  answered,  'Cer- 
tainly, gentlemen.'  'Will  you  do  it  immediately?'  'Immedi- 
ately.' 'The  price?'  'Six  hundred  dollars.'  It  was  agreed 
upon,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  picture  took  its  place  in  the 
Town  House,  and  the  merchant  paid  me  in  uncurrent  bank 
notes,  which  I  had  to  send  to  a  broker  to  be  exchanged,  I  pay- 
ing the  discount."  This  we  give  as  a  Stuart  story.  All  we 
vouch  for  is,  that  he  told  it  without  reserve. 

Another  of  Winstanley's  surreptitious  full-length  "Washing- 
tons"  long  disgraced  the  president's  house  at  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington. The  story  is  worth  telling,  and  belongs  to  our  subject. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  first  full  length  of  his  illustrious 
subject  which  the  great  artist  painted,  was  sent  to  Lord  Lans- 
downe.  The  second  was  painted  for  Mr.  Gardner  Baker,  of 
New  York,  for  his  museum.  The  third  for  Mr.  Constable  — 
which  is  now  at  Mr.  Pierpont's,  at  Brooklyn. 

Mr.  Baker  in  the  course  of  business  became  the  debtor  of 
Mr.  Wm.  Laing,  who,  in  process  of  time,  received  the  second 
picture  in  payment.  Mr.  Laing  being  in  the  metropolis  when 
the  president's  house  was  being  furnished,  suggested  the  ap- 
propriateness of  such  a  picture  as  he  possessed,  for  such  a 
place,  and  eventually  sold  the  portrait  to  the  committee  who 
directed  the  business.  Unfortunately  only  knowing  Winstanley 
as  a  painter,  he  sent  to  him  a  commisson  for  packing  up  and 
shipping  the  original  Stuart.  Winstanley  received  it,  and 
packed  up  one  of  his  copies  instead,  which  was  unsuspectingly 
received  and  put  up  in  the  palace.  This  cheat  was  not  dis- 
covered until  after  Stuart  removed  to  the  city  of  Washington, 
when  he  at  a  glance,  saw  that  the  picture  was  not  from  his 
pencil  and  disclaimed  it.  In  the  meantime  the  rogue  had 
returned  home  with  his  prize,  and  Mr.  Laing,  after  making 
every  effort  to  regain  the  picture,  refunded  the  money.  A  simi- 


288  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

lar  trick  was  played  by  a  Frenchman,  in  respect  to  one  of  the 
first  portraits  Stuart  painted  on  his  return  to  America.  The 
picture  was  that  of  Doctor  Johnson,  president  of  Columbia 
College,  which  having  been  left  with  one  of  his  sons,  this 
Frenchman,  known  to  the  son  as  a  painter,  solicited  the  loan 
of  this  very  fine  portrait  as  a  study.  Mr.  Johnson  complied, 
and  the  picture  was  detained  for  a  long  time;  at  length  a  copy 
was  sent  which  deceived  Mr.  Johnson,  and  the  swindler  kept 
the  original.  Fortunately  for  the  family  and  for  justice,  Mr. 
David  Longworth,  a  liberal  publisher  and  friend  of  the  arts, 
discovered  that  the  original  Stuart  remained  with  the  French- 
man, who  had  removed  to  Boston,  and  after  some  difficulty 
succeeded,  probably  by  threats,  in  gaining  possession  of  the 
picture,  and  sent  it  to  Doctor  Johnson,  with  a  letter  congratu- 
lating him  on  the  recovery.* 

These  anecdotes  will  remind  the  reader  (who  reads  such 
things),  of  the  story  told  by  Roscoe  in  his  Catalogue  published 
in  1816,  of  an  imposition  practised  by  one  of  the  Medici  upon 
the  Duke  of  Mantua,  who  had  obtained  from  the  pope,  Clement 
VII,  a  gift  of  Raffaele's  portrait  of  Leo  X.,  then  at  Florence, 
and  ordered  it  to  be  sent  to  Mantua.  The  Florentine  Medici 
instead  of  so  doing,  sent  for  Andrea  del  Sarto,  and  employed 
him  to  make  a  copy,  which  done,  he  held  the  original  and  sent 
the  copy  to  the  amateur  duke.  The  story  of  the  deception 
is  worth  attention,  and  will  be  found  as  above,  and  in  the 
"Life  of  Roscoe"  by  his  son.  Here  it  was  not  the  painter 
that  was  the  rogue,  but  the  proprietor;  and  another  dissim- 
ilarity is,  that  the  copy  was  pronounced  as  good  as  the 
original. 

In  connection  with  the  portrait  of  Washington,  and  in  eluci- 
dation of  the  character  of  Mr.  Stuart,  we  here  mention  another 
circumstance.  After  the  painter  removed  to  Boston,  the  Penn- 
sylvania Academy  of  Fine  Arts  appropriated  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  for  a  portrait  of  the  hero.  Mr.  Hopkinson,  the  presi- 
dent, wrote  to  Mr.  Stuart  to  engage  the  picture  at  that  price, 

*  This  anecdote  comes  from  Wm.  S.  Johnson,  Esq..  a  grandson  of  the  venerated 
Doctor. 


THE  LANSDOWNE  "WASHINGTON" 

expecting,  of  course,  an  exertion  of  his  utmost  skill  —  and  the 
artist  never  answered  the  letter. 

The  following  is  the  history  of  the  picture  of  Washington, 
painted  for  Lord  Lansdowne,  and  the  print  published  from  it 
by  Heath,  as  given  by  the  painter  to  Mr.  Neagle.  "The 
marquis  gave  Mr.  Stuart  a  commission  to  paint  for  him  a 
full  length,  to  be  sent  to  London.  When  the  picture  was 
nearly  finished,  Mr.  Bingham,  a  rich  man  of  Philadelphia, 
waited  upon  Mr.  Stuart,  and  begged  as  a  favor,  that  he  might 
be  allowed  the  honor  of  paying  for  the  picture,  and  presenting 
it  to  the  marquis.  Mr.  Stuart,  after  taking  time  for  delibera- 
tion, consented.  He  said  that  he  gave  his  consent,  thinking 
that  the  marquis  would  be  gratified  by  the  compliment,  but 
he  requested  Mr.  Bingham  to  secure  a  copyright  for  him. 
When  the  picture  arrived  in  England  it  attracted  general  at- 
tention, and  Mr.  Heath,  the  engraver,  was  not  slow  to  per- 
ceive the  advantage  that  might  accrue  to  himself  by  publish- 
ing a  print  from  it;  which  he  did,  with  the  consent  of  the 
marquis,  who  observed  at  the  time,  that  Mr.  Stuart  would 
be  highly  gratified  by  having  his  work  copied  by  an  artist  of 
such  distinguished  ability." 

Accordingly  the  engraving  was  announced  in  London,  with 
the  usual  puffs;  stating  that  the  picture  is  in  the  possession  of 
the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne;  is  "the  production  of  that  very 
excellent  portrait  painter  Gabriel  Stuart,  a  native  of  America, 
and  an  eleve  of  Benjamin  West,  Esq.  To  introduce  the  eulo- 
gium  on  the  engraving  of  this  execrable  libel  on  the  countenance 
of  Washington,  so  different  from  Stuart's  pictures,  praise  is 
first  lavished  on  the  painter.  "His  pencil  has  a  freedom  that 
is  unaffected;  his  coloring  is  clear  without  glare,  and  chaste 
without  monotony;  his  style  of  composition  is  animated,  yet 
simple,  and  he  has  the  happy  facility  of  embodying  the  mind, 
as  strongly  as  he  identifies  the  person."  After  much  more,, 
"puff  direct"  goes  on  to  say,  "The  engraving  of  this  portrait 
is  the  work  of  that  very  excellent  artist,  Mr.  James  Heath* 
historical  engraver  to  the  king,  and  one  of  the  six  associate 
engravers  to  the  royal  academy."  The  conclusion  of  the 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

advertisement  announces  "that  Mr.  Heath  is  joint  proprietor 
of  this  portrait,  with  the  Messrs.  Boy  dell  and  Thompson." 
Those  who  know  how  tenacious  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  and 
other  English  painters  are,  of  their  right  in  then*  pictures,  and 
the  sums  demanded  for  permission  to  engrave  them,  may 
judge  of  the  feelings  of  Stuart,  when  he  saw  himself  excluded 
from  this  partnership  in  his  property.  Mr.  Neagle  proceeds 
thus: 

"Mr.  Bingham  had  not  made  it  a  condition  with  the  marquis 
that  a  copyright  should  be  secured  for  the  benefit  of  the 
painter;  indeed  he  never  mentioned  Mr.  Stuart's  wish,  intend- 
ing by  the  next  vessel,  to  beg  this  provision  for  the  painter's 
benefit,  as  an  after  thought,  which  would  not  appear  to  lessen 
the  value  of  the  present.  But  this  proved  too  late  for  poor 
Stuart.  When  the  next  vessel  arrived,  Heath  had  made  his 
copy  under  the  sanction  of  the  owner,  and  his  design  was 
already  on  the  copper.  The  matter,  however,  was  never 
broached  to  Stuart,  and  he  told  me  that  the  first  he  knew  of  it 
was  in  Mr.  Dobson's  bookstore,  in  Second  Street,  Philadelphia. 
He  was  unknown  to  Mr.  Dobson,  but  was  in  the  habit  of 
frequenting  the  store  and  purchasing  books,  paper,  and 
pencils.  On  one  occasion,  when  calling  as  usual,  Mr.  Dobson 
having  just  received  a  box  of  these  finished  engravings,  for 
sale  on  commission,  opened  it,  and  showed  Stuart  an  impres- 
sion from  Mr.  Heath's  plate;  this  was  the  first  intimation  he 
had  of  the  unwelcome  fact,  that  his  prospects  of  advantage 
from  a  copyright  were  annihilated,  and  the  fruits  of  his  labors 
snatched  from  him  by  one  who  had  no  share  in  his  enterprise, 
or  claims  whatever  upon  that  which  he  had  invented  and 
executed.  He  was  unable  to  answer  Mr.  Dobson's  questions 
respecting  the  merit  of  the  engraving  and  the  prospects  of 
sale;  but  when  he  recovered  himself,  he  replied,  'Sir,  the  work 
is  as  infamous  in  its  execution  as  the  motive  that  led  to  it.' 
'What,'  said  Dobson,  'have  you  the  feelings  of  an  American? 
What!  Do  you  not  respect  the  man  here  represented,  nor  the 
talents  of  the  American  painter  who  executed  the  original 
picture?  What  would  Mr.  Stuart  say  if  he  heard  you  speak 


HEATH'S  ENGRAVING  OF  WASHINGTON          241 

thus?'  'It  has  been  my  custom,'  replied  Stuart,  'to  speak  the 
language  of  plainness  and  truth,  whenever  the  character  and 
fortune  of  any  man  are  thus  jeopardized.  By  this  act,  the 
family  of  the  painter  is  ruined.  My  name  is  Stuart.  I  am  the 
painter,  and  have  a  right  to  speak.'  He  then  related  the  whole 
transaction  to  Mr.  Dobson,  who  returned  the  prints  to  the  box, 
nailed  it  up,  and  was  never  known  to  sell,  or  offer  for  sale,  one 
of  those  engravings  (and  as  I  understood  Mr.  Stuart),  or  any 
other  engraved  head  of  Washington,  from  his  work. 

"Mr.  Stuart  waited  upon  Mr.  Bingham,  by  advice,  to  obtain 
justice,  but  in  vain.  They  quarrelled,  and  the  painter  left 
unfinished  a  painting  that  he  had  commenced  for  the  Bingham 
family.  I  saw  one  beautifully  painted  head  of  Mrs.  Bingham, 
on  a  kit  cat  lead  colored  canvas  with  nothing  but  the  head 
finished.  The  rest  was  untouched." 

Such  is  Mr.  Stuart's  history  of  Heath's  print  of  Washington. 
That  "the  work  is  infamous,"  as  it  respects  the  representa- 
tion of  Stuart's  picture  or  Washington's  physiognomy,  is 
most  true,  and  "true  'tis  pity,  and  pity  'tis,  'tis  true":  this, 
and  other  vile  libels  upon  the  countenance  of  the  father  of  his 
country  are  spread  over  the  land,  leaving  such  impressions  as 
will  make  those  who  see  the  original  portrait  by  Gilbert 
Stuart  think  they  look  upon  the  face  of  a  stranger. 

The  success  of  Stuart's  Washington,  and  the  generally 
received  opinion  that  he  alone  had  represented  the  hero  truly 
on  canvas,  was  a  sore  mortification  to  those  painters  who  had 
preceded  him.  We  have  seen  the  president  of  an  academy, 
when  surrounded  by  the  directors,  stand  before  a  full  length 
Washington,  by  Stuart,  and  after  pointing  out  to  these  gentle- 
men, all  worthy  physicians,  lawyers,  or  merchants,  what  he 
considered,  or  called,  the  defects,  he  has  literally  to  show  his 
contempt,  drawn  the  stick  he  held  in  his  hand,  here  and  there 
over  the  surface,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "It  is  like  a  little 
old  French  marquis  more  than  Washington."  On  another 
occasion,  when  sitting  to  a  young  artist  for  his  portrait,  the 
subject  of  Stuart's  picture  of  the  first  president  being  intro- 
duced, he  gave  this  version  of  the  story.  "Mr.  Stuart's  con- 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

versation  could  not  interest  General  Washington  —  he  had  no 
topic  fitted  for  his  character  —  the  president  did  not  relish  his 
manners.  When  he  sat  to  me  he  was  at  his  ease."  This  was  to 
confirm  the  previously  advanced  opinion,  that  Stuart's  picture 
of  Washington  did  not  represent  the  hero's  character. 

On  this  subject  we  quote  the  opinion  of  a  greater  artist. 
Charles  R.  Leslie  says,  after  praising  Stuart's  portrait  of  Alder- 
man Boydell,  and  the  full  length  of  Washington,  painted  for 
the  Marquis  Lansdowne,  "How  fortunate  it  was  that  a  painter 
existed  in  the  time  of  Washington,  who  could  hand  him  down 
to  us  looking  like  a  gentleman." 

Charles  Willson  Peale  had  repeatedly  painted  him,  and  was 
mortified  to  find  his  efforts  forgotten  or  despised.  Stuart  has 
asserted,  that  it  was  at  his  request  that  General  Washington, 
after  sitting  to  him,  consented  to  sit  once  more  to  Mr.  Peale, 
and  related  the  result  somewhat  in  this  manner  to  Mr.  Neagle. 
"I  looked  in  to  see  how  the  old  gentleman  was  getting  on 
with  the  picture,  and  to  my  astonishment,  I  found  the  general 
surrounded  by  the  whole  family.  They  were  peeling  him,  sir. 
As  I  went  away  I  met  Mrs.  Washington,  'Madam,'  said  I, 
'the  general's  in  a  perilous  situation.'  'How,  sir?'  'He  is  beset 
madam,  —  no  less  than  five  upon  him  at  once;  one  aims  at  his 
eye  —  another  at  his  nose  —  another  is  busy  with  his  hah*  — 
his  mouth  is  attacked  by  a  fourth  —  and  the  fifth  has  him  by 
the  button;  in  short,  madam,  there  are  five  painters  at  him, 
and  you  who  know  how  much  he  has  suffered  when  only  at- 
tended by  one,  can  judge  of  the  horrors  of  his  situation.'  ' 

We  learn  from  Mr.  David  Edwin,  the  well-known  engraver, 
and  son  of  the  celebrated  comedian,  long  the  delight  of  London, 
that  during  the  yellow  fever,  which  afflicted  Philadelphia,  in 
1798,  he  and  Mr.  Trott,  the  miniature  painter,  were  neighbors 
to  Mr.  Stuart,  near  the  Falls  of  the  Schuylkill.  Edwin  was  at 
the  time  engraving  from  the  painter's  portraits,  "  When  I 
carried  him  a  proof  of  Judge  Shippen's  picture,"  says  the  en- 
graver, "he  had  a  sitter  with  him,  and  the  print  was  sent  in. 
He  came  out  to  me,  and  expressed  his  gratification  on  seeing 
the  result  of  my  labor.  *  You  may  consider  it,'  said  he,  '  the 


PICTURES  IN  EXCHANGE  FOR  WINE  243 

greatest  compliment  I  ever  paid  you,  when  I  leave  my  sitter  to 
tell  you  how  much  I  am  pleased  with  this  head/  When  look- 
ing at  a  print  from  my  engraving,  of  his  portrait  of  Judge 
McKean,  *  I  will  make  this  look  like  his  son,'  said  he,  and 
taking  some  chalks,  he  removed  the  wig  of  the  judge,  and  with  a 
few  scratches  over  the  face,  produced  a  likeness,  when  before 
there  was  no  apparent  similarity." 

As  in  times  to  come  this  immortal  work  may  be  quoted  to 
prove  that  American  judges  wore  wigs,  we  will  add  that  in 
1798  they  only  wore  them  as  other  old  gentlemen  did,  to  cover 
baldness,  as  judges'  wigs  were  never  worn  in  the  United  States. 

Judge  Hopkinson  has  communicated  the  following  anecdote 
of  our  artist  during  his  residence  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia. 
Contemporary  with  our  great  portrait  painter  in  the  city  of 
Penn,  was  a  great  wine  merchant,  and  it  is  well  known  that 
before  his  return  to  his  native  country,  Stuart  had  contracted 
an  unfortunate  habit  which  rendered  the  dealers  in  wine  very 
important  personages  in  his  estimation.  It  happened  that  Mr. 
Wagner's  taste  for  pictures  was  almost  as  strong  as  the  paint- 
er's taste  for  Madeira,  and  he  was  willing  to  indulge  Stuart's 
natural  palate  in  exchange  for  the  products  of  his  artificial. 
Mr.  Wagner  had  three  portraits  painted,  value,  per  bill,  three 
hundred  dollars.  When  the  painter  and  the  wine  merchant 
balanced  accounts,  the  dealer  in  paint  and  immortality  was 
debtor,  per  bill,  two  hundred  dollars. 

Stuart  was  an  enemy  to  academies  for  teaching  the  fine 
arts.  Fuseli  has  said,  "Academies  are  symptoms  of  art  in 
distress."  Stuart  said  they  raised  up  a  multitude  of  mediocre 
artists  to  the  injury  of  art  and  its  professors.  We  think  he 
was  wrong  in  his  sweeping  condemnation,  and  shall  give  our 
opinions  and  reasons  for  them  in  the  course  of  this  work. 
That  the  number  of  painters  is  increased  is  certain,  but  the 
most  meritorious  take  the  lead,  and  are  greater  in  merit  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  they  precede.  Stuart  pettishly  has  said, 
"By-and-by  you  will  not  by  chance  kick  your  foot  against  a 
dog  kennel,  but  out  will  start  a  portrait  painter."  Fuseli, 
after  the  above  sarcasm  on  academies,  was  for  many  years  the 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

keeper  of  that  over  which  West  presided,  and,  in  his  old  age, 
when  criticising  the  work  of  Harlowe,  after  witnessing  his  in- 
effectual attempts  to  draw  an  arm,  exclaimed,  "It  is  a  pity  you 
never  attended  the  Antique  Academy."  So  much  for  the 
learned  keeper's  opinion  respecting  academies.  The  office  of 
a  keeper  of  an  Academy  of  Design  or  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  of 
the  first  importance  to  the  institution,  and  highly  honorable; 
the  keeper  is  the  teacher.  Where  an  academy  is  merely  such 
in  name,  the  keeper  may  be  found,  and  usually  is,  some  trust- 
worthy mechanic,  who  never  thought  of  a  picture  but  as  some- 
thing made  valuable  by  a  frame.  Academies  whose  members 
are  patrons,  not  artists,  and  whose  keepers  are  carpenters 
instead  of  painters,  are  indeed  "symptoms  of  art  in  distress." 

After  the  foundation  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  the  re- 
moval of  Congress  to  that  place,  Mr.  Stuart  followed,  taking 
up  his  abode  where  the  officers  and  representatives  of  the 
people  congregate.  At  what  precise  period  he  removed  from 
Germantown  to  Washington  we  do  not  know.1  He  resided  there 
until  1805,  and  then  removed  to  Boston,  in  which  city  and  its 
suburbs  he  continued  until  his  final  removal  by  death.  While 
at  the  seat  of  government,  which  was  probably  from  1800  to 
1805,  he  associated  intimately  with  all  the  leading  and  dis- 
tinguished men  of  the  time,  and  painted  the  portraits  of  the 
greater  number,  as  well  as  those  of  the  reigning  belles,  residing 
or  visiting  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  as  he  had  before  done 
at  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  In  1806  he  boarded  and  painted 
at  Chapotin's  Hotel,  Summer  Street,  Boston.  I  there  saw  him 
both  in  the  painting  room  and  at  the  dinner  table.  His  morn- 
ings were  passed  in  the  first  and  too  much  of  the  remainder  of 
the  day  at  the  second.  His  family  were  not  with  him. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  again  met  his  early  friend  Doctor 
Waterhouse,  after  a  separation  of  near  thirty  years.  The 
Doctor  writes,  "After  spending  the  night  at  my  house,  he  got 
up  early  in  the  morning,  and  went  into  the  room  where  hung 
this  head"  (the  portrait  already  mentioned  by  the  Doctor  in 
these  words,  'The  only  head  of  his  own,  painted  by  himself, 

1  Stuart  went  to  Washington  in  1803. 


RESIDENCE  ON  FORT  HILL  245 

was  done  for  me,  and  is  now  in  my  possession.  On  the  back  of 
it  is  written,  in  his  own  hand,  G.  Stuart,  Pictor,  se  ipso  pinxit, 
A.D.  1778.  Mtatis  sua  24.')  "when  I  heard  him  talking  to  it 
thus :  '  Gibby,  you  needn't  be  ashamed  of  that  —  there  is  the 
perfection  of  the  art  or  I  know  nothing  of  the  matter.'  And 
after  I  made  my  appearance,  he  said  to  me,  'I  should  like  to 
see  A.  B.  or  C.  attempt  to  copy  it.'  I  remarked  that  most 
people  took  it  for  a  very  old  picture.  He  replied,  'Yes,  I  sup- 
pose so;  I  olified  it  on  purpose  that  they  should  think  so,'  — 
punning  on  the  Latin  word  oleum-oH." 

This  was  written  by  Doctor  Waterhouse  in  1833,  after  an 
interval  of  more  than  twenty  years,  and  although  Stuart,  like 
Reynolds,  might  have  been  surprised  to  find  that  his  improve- 
ment during  many  years  of  practice  had  not  been  so  great  as 
he  had  thought  before  he  examined  his  early  work,  yet  we 
can  hardly  think  that  he  saw  in  a  picture  painted  in  1778, 
"the  perfection  of  the  art,"  and  must  conclude  that  his  vener- 
able friend  has  forgotten  the  precise  expression  made  Use  of. 

Mr.  Stuart  often  expressed  a  wish  to  visit  New  York,  but 
from  the  time  that  he  set  up  his  easel  at  Chapotin's,  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  his  longest  journey,  I  believe,  was  his  visit  to 
Narraganset,  the  place  of  his  birth.  In  1813,  I  passed  many 
hours  with  him  at  his  house  in  Roxbury,  adjoining  Boston 
Neck,  and  in  1822  I  saw  him  apparently  not  in  so  good  cir- 
cumstances and  much  afflicted  with  gout,  on  Fort  Hill.  I 
always  found  him  cheerful  and  ready  to  impart  knowledge 
from  the  store  his  observation  had  gained  and  his  extraordinary 
memory  retained.  It  was  at  this  time  that  I  sat  to  him  for 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Perkins'  portrait,  now  in  the  Athenaeum  at 
Boston,  to  which  institution  he  had  been  a  munificent  donor 
and  had  died  after  the  head  of  this  portrait  was  finished.  It 
was  no  task  to  sit  to  Stuart;  his  conversation  rendered  it  a 
pleasure. 

If  we  judge  by  the  portrait  of  the  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams, 
the  last  head  he  painted,  his  powers  of  mind  were  undiminished 
to  the  last,  and  his  eye  free  from  the  dimness  of  age.  This 
picture  was  begun  as  a  full  length,  but  death  arrested  the  hand 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  the  artist  after  he  had  completed  the  likeness  of  the  face; 
and  proved,  that,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  he  painted  better 
than  in  the  meridian  of  life.  This  picture  has  been  finished; 
that  is,  the  person  and  accessories  painted,  by  that  eminent 
and  highly  gifted  artist,  Mr.  Thomas  Sully;  who,  as  he  has 
said,  would  have  thought  it  little  less  than  sacrilege  to  have 
touched  the  head.1 

Mr.  Stuart  died  in  the  month  of  July,  1828,  in  the  seventy- 
fifth  year  of  his  age;  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  which  he  attended  during  his  residence  in 
Boston.2 

With  the  most  brilliant  talents,  and,  through  life,  the  admira- 
tion of  every  one  who  approached  him  or  saw  his  works, 
Gilbert  Stuart  died  poor.  His  friends,  and  the  friends  of  the 
fine  arts  in  Boston,  caused  an  exhibition  to  be  made  of  such  of 
his  works  as  could  be  collected,  and  the  proceeds  were  appropri- 
ated to  his  family.  How  many,  without  a  hundredth  part  of 
his  talents,  have  passed  through  life  by  their  own  efforts,  not 
only  without  embarrassment  from  poverty,  but  in  affluence, 
merely  by  following  the  dictates  of  prudence;  while  of  Stuart, 
the  delight  of  his  friends  and  the  boast  of  his  country,  we  are 
obliged  to  say,  as  was  said  of  another  professor  of  the  fine 
arts,  "poorly,  poor  man,  he  lived!  poorly,  poor  man,  he  died!" 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Stuart,  before  removing  to  Boston, 
made  an  attempt  to  provide  for  his  family,  by  purchasing  a 
farm  in  Pennsylvania,  near  Pottsville,  and  paid  part  cf  the 
money;  but  did  not  complete  the  payments,  and  finally  lost 
the  whole.  Of  this  we  can  gain  no  accurate  information. 

Mr.  Stuart  married  the  daughter  of  Doctor  Coates,  while 
residing  hi  London,  in  1786.  By  this  marriage  he  had  thirteen 
children,  two  born  in  England.  Of  these  children  two  were 
sons,  and  the  eldest  son  inherited  much  of  his  father's  talent 
for  painting.  Both  the  sons  died  early.  Several  daughters  are 

1  The  portrait  finished  by  Thomas  Sully  of  John  Quincy  Adams  is  in  the  Library 
at  Harvard  College. 

1  Gilbert  Stuart  died  in  Boston  July  9,  1828,  and  is  buried  in  the  Central  Burial 
Ground  on  Boston  Common. 


COOKE  AND  BRANDY  TODDY        247 

living.  The  youngest,  Miss  Jane  Stuart,  will  be  mentioned  in 
another  part  of  this  work. 

We  shall  conclude  this  article  by  miscellaneous  observations, 
facts,  and  anecdotes,  relative  to  the  subject  of  it. 

When  the  celebrated  George  Frederick  Cooke  was  playing 
at  Boston,  Stuart  painted  his  portrait  for  an  admirer  of  the 
tragedian;  and  it  happened  that  the  last  sitting  was  appointed 
for  a  day  immediately  following  one  of  the  actor's  long  sittings 
for  another  purpose.  He  began  the  sitting  in  full  glee,  under 
the  influence  of  some  brandy  toddy;  "and  Stuart,  always  full 
of  anecdote,  which  he  happily  applies  to  keep  alive  the  atten- 
tion of  his  patients,  and  elicit  the  peculiarities  of  their  char- 
acter, exerted  himself  to  keep  up  the  animation  which  sparkled 
in  George  Frederick's  eyes;  but  after  a  short  time,  his  en- 
deavors were  in  vain.  His  eloquence  failed;  and  the  subject 
of  his  attention  dropped  his  chin  upon  his  breast,  and  slept 
as  comfortably  as  though  he  had  gone  to  church.  Stuart 
had  tried  to  rouse  him  by  —  'a  little  more  up,  if  you  please  — 
a  little  more  this  way  — '  but  finding  all  in  vain,  he  very  delib- 
erately put  down  pencil  and  palette  and  took  out  his  snuff- 
box. The  painter  having  made  this  appeal  to  his  nose,  got  up 
—  took  another  pinch  —  looked  at  Cooke  —  shrugged  his 
shoulders  —  walked  to  the  fireplace,  and  then  continued  to 
apply  the  stimulating  dust  in  most  immoderate  quantities, 
like  the  representative  of  Sir  Fretful,  in  the  *  Critic.'  Cooke  at 
last  awoke;  and  addressing  himself  to  the  chair  Stuart  had  left 
vacant,  protested  that  he  believed  he  had  been  asleep.  'I  beg 
pardon,  Mr.  Stuart,  I  will  be  more  attentive.'  Stuart,  who 
stood  behind  him,  gave  no  other  answer,  but  —  '  The  picture's 
finished,  Sir.'  ' 

There  were  many  points  in  which  these  two  eccentric  men 
of  genius  resembled  each  other;  but  Stuart  was  much  superior 
in  general  information,  in  wit  and  in  repartee.  They  were 
both  fond  of  telling  a  story,  and  not  sparing  in  embellishment. 
It  has  been  remarked,  that  it  is  more  from  a  carelessness  about 
truth,  a  want  of  due  respect  for  its  importance,  than  from 
intentional  misrepresentation,  that  there  is  so  much  falsehood 


248  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

in  the  world.  This  carelessness,  and  the  habit  of  talking  to 
endeavor  to  call  forth  the  character  of  his  sitters,  caused  in 
Mr.  Stuart  a  laxity  in  his  statement  of  incidents  that  was  at 
once  amusing,  curious,  puzzling,  and  lamentable.  Yet  this 
carelessness,  censurable  as  it  is,  does  not  debase  character  so 
much  as  intentional  and  premeditated  falsehood.  The  first 
renders  us  doubtful  respecting  assertions  made  relative  to 
events  or  persons,  and  fixes  a  character  of  levity  on  the  man 
who  habitually  practises  it.  The  other  belongs  to  the  systematic 
man  of  deceit,  who  misrepresents  for  purposes  of  self-exalta- 
tion, or  for  the  injury  of  others,  and  marks  a  mind  addicted 
to  turpitude;  from  the  possessor  of  which  we  shrink  as  from  a 
venomous  reptile.  Mr.  Stuart  had  none  of  the  latter  character. 

Of  Mr.  Stuart's  power  or  faculty  of  recollection  the  follow- 
ing circumstance  has  been  published.  When  he  resided  in 
Dublin,  which  must  have  been  about  1788-9,  a  young  lad, 
afterwards,  during  a  long  life,  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  was  an 
apprentice  in  a  book  store,  nearly  opposite  the  house,  in  Pill 
Lane,  where  the  painter  lodged.  This  citizen's  portrait  was 
painted  in  Philadelphia,  a  few  years  since,  by  Mr.  John  Neagle; 
who  shortly  afterwards  making  a  visit  to  Boston,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seeing  Mr.  Stuart  (a  pilgrimage  many  a  painter  has 
made),  took  the  portrait  with  him,  as  a  specimen  of  his  talents. 
When  presented  to  Stuart  he  gazed  at  it  for  a  while,  and  then 
pronounced  the  name  of  the  person  for  whom  it  was  painted, 
declaring  that  he  had  known  him  in  Pill  Lane,  Dublin.  The 
citizen  in  question  was  in  Boston  not  long  before  the  painter's 
death,  and  went  with  Mr.  O.  C.  Greenleaf  to  see  Mr.  Stuart, 
requesting  his  companion  not  to  mention  his  name.  As  soon 
as  he  entered  the  room  Mr.  Stuart  came  up  to  him  familiarly, 
shook  him  by  the  hand,  accosted  him  by  name,  and  told  him 
that  he  had  recognized  his  portrait  as  that  of  his  former 
acquaintance  of  Pill  Lane. 

His  powers  of  recollection  were  further  exemplified  in  the 
case  of  a  gentleman  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  whose  por- 
trait he  had  formerly  painted.  After  an  absence  of  at  least 
twenty-five  years,  the  gentleman  called  on  him  in  Boston,  and 


MATILDA  CAROLINE   (  HKJKK 

1776-181* 
By  GILBERT  STUAHT 

Kruiii  111--  collection  of  Mr.  Frank  Hulkeley  Smith 


ANTIPATHY  TOWARDS  JARVIS  249 

was  shown  up  to  the  room  in  which  he  was  painting.  He 
knocked,  and  was  invited  to  walk  in.  On  opening  the  door, 
finding  that  the  artist  was  engaged,  he  was  retiring,  when 
Stuart  addressed  him  by  name,  as  if  he  had  recently  seen  him, 
and  insisted  on  his  coming  in. 

Of  the  rapidity  with  which  he  caught  the  form,  and  recog- 
nized a  person  before  known,  Mr.  Edwin  mentioned  this  in- 
stance. "I  entered  Boston  in  the  evening,  in  a  stagecoach, 
and  next  day  visited  Mr.  Stuart,  'I  knew  you  were  in  Boston/ 
said  he.  'I  only  came  last  evening,  sir,  and  this  is  the  first 
time  I  have  been  out.'  'I  saw  you  —  you  came  to  town,  like 
a  criminal  going  to  the  gallows  —  back  foremost.'  I  had  been 
sitting  on  the  front  seat." 

On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Edwin  mentioned  Stuart's  well-known 
aversion  to  Jarvis;  the  latter  had  arrived  at  the  same  time 
with  Edwin,  and  wished  to  call  on  Stuart,  but  Edwin  avoided 
going  with  him.  "When  I  saw  Stuart  a  second  time,  I  re- 
marked, that  he  had  had  a  visit  from  Mr.  Jarvis:  'Yes,'  said 
he,  'and  he  came  to  see  me  in  his  buffs.  He  had  buff  gloves  — 
buff  jacket  —  buff  waistcoat  and  trowsers  —  and  buff  shoes.'  I 
mentioned  this  remark  to  Jarvis,  and  when  he  called  on  Stuart 
again,  he  wore  black.  I  told  Stuart,  that  I  repeated  his  de- 
scription of  the  buffs,  and  reminded  him  of  the  second  call,  in 
black.  He  jumped  up,  and  clapped  his  hands,  laughing  heartily : 
'So!  I  caused  him  to  put  his  buff  in  mourning.' ' 

Another  time  that  Jarvis  had  called  on  Stuart,  he  made  his 
appearance  in  a  short  coatee  with  large  pockets,  and  the  old 
man  described  him  as  "all  inexpressibles  and  pockets."  In- 
stances were  mentioned  of  Stuart's  power  of  painting  likenesses 
from  memory.  He  had  so  painted  his  own  grandmother,  and 
several  others  with  great  success.  This  was  owing  to  his  obser- 
vation of  expression  and  character,  rather  than  feature.  "You 
have  Hull's  likeness  here,"  said  he  to  Edwin,  looking  on  the 
engraving  from  his  portrait  of  the  naval  commander.  "He 
always  looks  as  if  the  sun  was  shining  in  his  face,  and  he  half 
shuts  his  eyes  as  he  gazes  at  him." 

The  English  ambassador,  known  in  this  country  by  the  ap- 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

pellation  of  Copenhagen  Jackson,  told  Judge  Hopkinson, 
that  when  he  was  about  leaving  England  for  America,  he 
called  on  Mr.  West,  and  asked  him  to  recommend  a  portrait 
painter.  Telling  him  that  he  was  going  abroad.  "Where  are 
you  going?"  "To  the  United  States."  "Then,  sir,  you  will 
find  the  best  portrait  painter  in  the  world,  and  his  name  is 
Gilbert  Stuart."  Mr.  Jackson  visited  Stuart,  and  told  him  the 
words  of  his  old  master.  "I  saw  the  portraits  he  painted  for 
him,"  said  Mr.  Hopkinson,  "and  they  were  admirable  likenesses 
of  the  ambassador  and  his  wife." 

It  is  remembered  by  many  that  Stuart  generally  produced 
a  likeness  on  the  panel  or  canvas,  before  painting  in  the  eyes, 
his  theory  being,  that  on  the  nose,  more  than  any  other  feature, 
likeness  depended.  On  one  occasion,  when  a  pert  coxcomb 
had  been  sitting  to  him,  the  painter  gave  notice  that  the  sitting 
was  ended,  and  the  dandy  exclaimed  on  looking  at  the  canvas, 
"Why  —  it  has  no  eyes!"  Stuart  replied,  "It.  is  not  nine  days 
old  yet."  We  presume  our  readers  need  not  be  reminded 
that  nine  days  must  elapse  from  the  birth  of  a  puppy,  before  he 
opens  his  eyes. 

Mr.  David  Edwin  engraved  many  portraits  from  the  works 
of  Stuart,  and  had  much  intercourse  with  him.  In  a  letter 
before  us  he  says,  "Mr.  Stuart  has  been  thought  by  many  to 
have  been  harsh  and  repulsive  in  his  manners :  to  me  he  never 
appeared  so;  and  many  of  those  who  thought  they  had  cause 
to  complain,  have  possibly  brought  his  ill  temper  on  them- 
selves by  want  of  manners,  or  some  other  cause.  Perhaps  he 
practised  too  often  the  advice  which  he  said  had  been  given 
him  by  Lord  Thurlow,  who  on  one  occasion  said  to  him,  "If 
any  man  speaks  disrespectfully  of  either  you  or  your  art,  give 
him  battle,  my  boy !  Give  him  battle !"  This  system  might  un- 
doubtedly appear  sometimes  "harsh  and  repulsive";  and  per- 
haps his  nephew  Stuart  Newton  found  it  so,  for  I  have  been 
told  that  his  bitter  expressions  of  dislike  to  his  uncle,  originated 
from  a  repulse  of  this  kind.  Newton  had  been  receiving 
Stuart's  instruction  in  painting,  and  on  one  occasion,  under 
the  influence  of  high  animal  spirits,  and  little  observant  of  the 


SLAVERY  TO  SNUFF  251 

present  humor  of  his  instructor,  he  abruptly  entered  Stuart's 
room,  and  flourishing  his  pencil,  cried,  "Now,  old  gentleman! 
I'll  teach  you  to  paint!"  This  joke  came  unseasonably  it 
seems,  and  the  reply  was,  "You'll  teach  me  to  paint,  will  you? 
and  I'll  teach  you  manners!"  and  not  happening  to  have  the 
gout  at  the  time,  he  kicked  the  youth  out  of  his  room. 

Of  the  painter's  inveterate  habit  of  snuffing  we  have  already 
spoken.  Mr.  Edwin  relates  the  following  instance  of  the 
slavery  to  which  his  nose  subjected  him.  Having  engaged 
to  dine  with  him,  the  engraver  went  early  and  found  that  he 
had  not  returned  from  his  morning's  walk.  By  and  by  in 
came  Stuart,  apparently  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,  and  pass- 
ing his  guest  without  speaking,  or  even  noticing  him,  went  to 
a  closet  and  took  out  a  bundle.  Edwin  was  fearful  that  he 
had  offended  him  unknowingly,  and  sat  rather  uneasily,  ob- 
serving his  motions.  He  took  from  the  bundle  some  tobacco, 
a  grater  (probably  the  identical  grater  which  occasionally  was 
stationed  behind  the  curtain  to  help  the  master  to  a  pun  in- 
stead of  a  pinch),  and  a  sieve.  His  nerves  were  so  agitated 
that  with  difficulty  he  manufactured  the  precious  article,  which 
he  had  inhaled  with  his  first  breath  —  but  succeeding,  he  hastily 
took  a  large  dose;  his  uncommon  tremor  seemed  suddenly  to 
forsake  him,  and  greeting  his  guest  cordially,  he  exclaimed, 
"What  a  wonderful  effect  a  pinch  of  snuff  has  upon  a  man's 
spirits." 

He  had  forgotten  to  replenish  his  snuff  box  before  going  out 
and  was  so  enslaved  by  habit,  that  he  could  not  even  recog- 
nize an  acquaintance,  in  his  own  house,  until  the  appetite  was 
satisfied. 

Another  pinch  of  snuff.  The  writer  on  occasion  of  one  of  his 
visits  to  Boston,  had  a  sea  captain,  an  elderly  man,  of  some 
humor,  for  a  companion,  who  was,  like  Stuart,  a  slave  to 
snuff,  and  like  him  had  most  capacious  nostrils.  The  sailor 
invariably  applied  the  stimulating  dust  to  his  right  nostril. 
Seeing  at  length  that  his  companion  observed  this,  he  remarked, 
"You  see,  sir,  I  have  always  a  nostril  in  reserve.  When  the 
right  becomes  callous  after  a  few  weeks'  usage,  I  apply  for 


252  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

comfort  to  the  left;  which  having  had  time  to  regain  its  sense 
of  feeling,  enjoys  the  blackguard,  until  the  right  comes  to  its 
senses."  When  I  visited  Stuart,  I  told  him  of  the  sailor's 
practice.  "Thank  you!"  said  he,  "it's  a  great  discovery. 
Strange  that  I  should  not  have  made  it  myself  when  I  have 
been  voyaging  all  my  life  in  these  channels." 

Stuart  once  asked  a  painter,  who  had  met  with  a  painter's 
difficulties,  "how  he  got  on  in  the  world."  "Oh,"  said  the 
other,  "so,  so!  hard  work  —  but  I  shall  get  through."  "Did 
you  ever  hear  of  anybody  that  did  not?"  was  the  rejoinder. 

Of  the  merits  of  his  pictures,  when  collected  for  exhibition, 
after  his  death,  we  have  heard  some  speak  disparagingly.  - 
These  pictures  are  mostly  heads.  Now  a  gallery  of  heads, 
many  of  them  portraits  of  persons  unknown,  and  many  of  those 
who  have  been  long  since  forgotten,  must  ever  be  an  uninter- 
esting exhibition  to  most.  Some  of  these  pictures  were  said  to 
be  positively  bad.  I  am  free  to  say,  that  I  never  saw  a  picture 
by  Stuart  that  did  not  show  a  skill  in  handling,  and  a  mind 
in  dictating,  far  above  mediocrity.  His  best  pictures  are  beyond 
all  praise.  An  impudent  pretender  to  criticism  has  said,  that 
"Stuart  painted  bad  pictures  enough  to  damn  any  other  man." 
This  was  said  because  it  had  point  and  was  bold;  but  it  is  as 
false  as  the  author  is  ignorant  of  the  art  he  criticised.  Others 
again  have  said,  Stuart's  females  were  always  poor,  compared 
to  his  portraits  of  men.  I  doubt  that,  and  remember  some  truly 
splendid.  Mr.  Isaac  P.  Davis  has  two  heads  on  one  canvas 
that  may  defy  competition.  I  have  seen  unfinished  and  care- 
lessly finished,  and  slovenly  pictures,  by  Stuart,  but  I  never 
saw  a  bad  one.  His  last  portraits,  or  those  painted  in  Boston, 
are  his  best. 

In  corroboration  of  my  opinion  respecting  the  merit  of 
Stuart's  works,  after  his  removal  to  Boston,  I  here  insert  an 
anecdote  related  by  Mr.  Sully.  Mr.  Allston,  at  Sully 's  request, 
accompanied  him  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Gibbs,  where  Allston's 
fine  picture  of  Elijah  was  to  be  seen.  After  looking  at  this, 
Miss  Gibbs  invited  them  into  another  room,  to  see  a  portrait 
of  her  father  by  Stuart.  Sully  says,  he  almost  started  at^first 


LIVING  PORTRAITURE  253 

sight  of  it:  and  after  he  had  examined  it  Allston  asked,  "Well, 
what  is  your  opinion?"  The  reply  was,  "I  may  commit  myself 
and  expose  my  ignorance;  but,  in  my  opinion,  I  never  saw  a 
Rembrandt,  Rubens,  Van  Dyck,  or  Titian,  equal  to  it.  What 
say  you?"  "I  say,  that  all  combined  could  not  have  equalled 
it." 

Mr.  Neagle  says,  speaking  of  this  same  portrait,  "There 
was  a  portrait,  by  Stuart,  that  Mr.  Allston  regretted  that  I 
could  not  see  'the  house  of  the  owner,'  being  at  the  time  shut 
up.  He  spoke  of  it,  not  only  as  the  best  American  portrait, 
but  said  that  'Van  Dyck,  Reynolds,  and  Rubens,  combined, 
could  not  have  produced  so  admirable  a  work.  Mr.  Sully  has 
described  it  as  a  portrait  of  a  man  of  middle  age,  looking  out. 
His  hair  was  dark,  but  becoming  silvery,  and  the  grey  and 
dark  hairs  were  mingled.  Mr.  Sully  told  me,  it  was  a  living  man 
looking  directly  at  you" 

We  extract  the  following  from  Mr.  Neagle's  manuscript 
notes.  — •  "When  I  knew  him,  he  carried  two  boxes  of  snuff, 
each  nearly  as  large  round  as  the  top  of  a  small  hat.  I  remem- 
ber he  offered  me  a  pinch  of  each :  and  when  I  asked  him  what 
was  the  difference,  he  replied,  'One  box  is  common  and  one 
superior;  the  first  is  for  common,  every-day  acquaintance,  the 
second  for  particular  friends;  therefore,  take  you  a  pinch  of 
the  best.'  This  was  his  humor,  and  I  never  felt  so  much  ease 
in  the  company  of  any  superior  man  as  in  his,  nor  ever  received 
so  much  improvement  in  conversation  on  the  arts  from  any 
other.  I  have  drank  wine  and  taken  snuff  with  him;  and  I 
must  agree  with  David  Edwin,  that  those  who  smarted  under 
his  resentment,  must  have  brought  it  on  by  their  own  impru- 
dence or  presumption.  I  shall  never  forget  his  kindness  to  me. 
His  family  appeared  to  fear  him.  He  had  an  odd  way  of  ad- 
dressing his  wife.  He  called  her  Tom  several  times  in  my 
presence.  I  have  often  remarked,  that  Mr.  Stuart  made  use  of 
fewer  technicals  than  any  other  artist  with  whom  I  ever  con- 
versed. Mr.  Edwin  has  made  the  same  observation.  While 
criticising  a  half-finished  engraving,  he  would  not  talk  of 
breadth,  drawing,  proportion,  or  the  like;  but  would  say  of  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

portrait,  'this  man's  eyes  appear  as  if  he  was  looking  at  the 
sun.'  Instead  of  saying,  'make  a  background  neutral,'  he  would 
say,  'Make  nothing  of  it.'  His  feelings  were  sore  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Washington  portrait,  by  Rembrandt  Peale.  He 
imagined  there  was  much  quackery  in  that  affair.  In  answer 
to  a  question  I  put  to  him  on  that  picture,  and  the  certificate, 
he  said,  'Si  qui  decipientur  decipiuntur.'  He  did  not  appear 
to  me  to  be  happy,  yet  was  always  ready  to  converse,  had  a 
fund  of  anecdote,  and  was  then  cheerful.  He  was  particularly 
eloquent  on  the  subject  of  arts  and  artists;  and  when  he  wished 
he  could  wield  the  weapons  of  satire  and  ridicule  with  peculiar 
force,  seize  the  strong  point  of  character,  placing  it  so  dexter- 
ously in  the  light  he  wished,  that  the  impression  was  irresistible 
and  not  easily  effaced.  His  plan  with  his  sitters  was,  to  keep 
up  an  agreeable  but  gentle  conversation,  keeping  his  mind 
free  and  fixed  on  his  work.  He  commenced  his  pictures  faint, 
like  the  reflections  in  a  dull  glass,  and  strengthened  as  the  work 
progressed,  making  the  parts  all  more  determined,  with  color, 
light,  and  shade.  Mr.  Stuart,  at  the  time  I  visited  him,  had 
suffered  from  paralysis :  the  left  side  of  his  face  was  contracted, 
and  he  called  my  attention  to  this  fact  when  I  was  about  to 
commence  his  portrait;  and  advised  me,  for  the  sake  of  per- 
spective representation,  in  such  cases,  to  place  the  withered 
side  farthest  from  the  eye.  His  hands  shook  at  times  so  vio- 
lently, that  I  wondered  how  he  could  place  his  brush  where 
his  mind  directed.  He  laughed  at  the  portrait  of  himself 
painted  by  C.  W.  Peale,  and  placed  by  him  in  his  museum 
at  Philadelphia:  he  said  it  was  an  awkward  clown.  He  had 
been  solicited  repeatedly  by  letter,  and  verbally,  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  Europe,  to  sit  for  his  portrait.  Frothingham  asked 
him,  and  he  admired  Frothingham;  yet  he  never  sat  to  him. 
—  That  he  should  have  honored  me,  an  humble  artist  and  a 
stranger,  by  not  only  sitting  for  one  portrait  entire,  but  by 
sitting  for  the  completion  of  a  copy,  is  r.  My  portrait 

is  the  last  ever  painted  of  this  distinguished  artist.  I  presented 
it  to  Mr.  Stuart's  friend,  Isaac  P.  Davis,  Esq.,  and  it  is  now 
think,  the  property  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum.    He  said  he 


PAINT  WHAT  YOU  SEE  255 

never  could  make  a  finished  drawing  on  paper.  I  asked  why 
he  and  Mr.  Allston  did  not  get  up  an  Academy  of  Arts  in  Bos- 
ton: he  said  that  men  of  wealth  and  pretension  generally 
interfered,  to  the  detriment  of  arts  and  artists. 

"The  following  dialogue  passed  between  us,  as  nearly  as  I 
can  remember  the  phraseology:  it  was  when  my  portrait  of 
Mr.  Stuart  was  in  progress,  in  the  summer  of  1825.  He  had 
stepped  out  of  the  painting  room  (it  was  at  his  own  house), 
and  in  the  meantime,  as  a  preparation  for  his  sitting,  I  placed 
alongside  of  my  unfinished  portrait  one  painted  by  him  of  Mr. 
Quincy,  the  mayor  of  Boston,  with  a  view  of  aiding  me  some- 
what in  the  coloring.  When  he  returned  and  was  seated  before 
me,  he  pointed  to  the  portrait  of  the  mayor,  and  asked,  'WThat 
is  that?'  'One  of  your  portraits.'  'Oh,  my  boy,  you  should 
not  do  that!'  said  he.  'I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Stuart,  I  should 
have  obtained  your  permission  before  I  made  this  use  of  it; 
but  I  have  placed  it  so  carefully  that  it  cannot  suffer  the  least 
injury.'  'It  is  not  on  that  account,'  said  he,  'that  I  speak: 
I  have  every  confidence  in  your  care :  but  why  do  you  place  it 
there?'  'That  I  might  devote  my  mind  to  a  high  standard  of 
art,'  I  replied,  'in  order  the  more  successfully  to  understand 
the  natural  model  before  me.'  'But,'  said  he,  'does  my  face 
look  like  Mr.  Quincy 's?'  'No,  sir,  not  at  all  in  the  expression, 
nor  can  I  say  that  the  coloring  is  even  like;  but  there  is  a  certain 
air  of  truth  in  the  coloring  of  your  work  which  gives  me  an  in- 
sight into  the  complexion  and  effect  of  nature;  and  I  was  in 
hopes  of  catching  something  from  the  work  of  the  master 
without  imitating  it.'  'As  you  have  heretofore/  said  Mr. 
Stuart,  'had  reasons  at  command  for  your  practice,  tell  me 
what  suggested  this  method.'  'Some  parts  of  the  lectures  of 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,'  which  I  repeated  to  him.  'I  knew  it,' 
said  he;  and  added,  'Reynolds  was  a  good  painter,  but  he  has 
done  incalculable  mischief  to  the  rising  generation  by  many 
of  his  remarks,  however  excellent  he  was  in  other  respects  as  a 
writer  on  art.  You  may  elevate  your  mind  as  much  as  you  can; 
but,  while  you  have  nature  before  you  as  a  model,  paint  what 
you  see,  and  look  with  your  own  eyes.  However  you  may 


«56  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

estimate  my  works,'  continued  the  veteran,  'depend  upon  it 
they  are  very  imperfect;  and  the  works  of  the  best  artists  have 
some  striking  faults.' 

"He  told  me  that  he  thought  Titian's  works  were  not 
by  any  means  so  well  blended  when  they  left  the  easel,  as 
the  moderns  infer  from  their  present  effect.  He  considered 
that  Rubens  had  a  fair  perception  of  color,  and  had  studied 
well  the  works  of  the  great  Venetian,  and  that  he  must  have 
discovered  more  tinting,  or  separate  tints,  or  distinctness,  than 
others  did,  and  that,  as  time  mellowed  and  incorporated  the 
tints,  he  (Rubens)  resolved  not  only  to  keep  his  colors  still 
more  distinct  against  the  ravages  of  time,  but  to  follow  his 
own  impetuous  disposition  with  spirited  touches.  Mr.  Stuart 
condemned  the  practice  of  mixing  a  color  on  a  knife,  and  com- 
paring it  with  whatever  was  to  be  imitated.  — '  Good  flesh 
coloring,'  he  said,  'partook  of  all  colors,  not  mixed,  so  as  to 
be  combined  in  one  tint,  but  shining  through  each  other,  like 
the  blood  through  the  natural  skin.'  Van  Dyck  he  much 
admired,  for  the  intelligence  of  his  heads  and  his  freedom.  He 
spoke  well  of  Gainsborough's  flesh,  and  his  dragging  manner  of 
tinting;  but  could  not  endure  Copley's  labored  flesh,  which  he 
compared  to  tanned  leather." 

We  copy  these  reminiscences  of  the  conversation  of  Mr. 
Stuart,  and  consider  them  valuable.  What  is  said  of  flesh 
"partaking  of  all  colors,"  will  remind  the  reader  of  Stuart's 
remarks  on  West's  mode  of  teaching,  as  given  in  a  preceding 
page,  when  he  was  speaking  to  Trumbull.  Mr.  Copley's 
manner  was  not  always  like  "tanned  leather"  in  his  flesh: 
some  of  his  pictures  deserve  the  censure  —  but  our  opinion  of 
his  works  is  already  given. 

We  all  know  that  Mr.  Stuart  sometimes  neglected  the  dra- 
peries of  his  pictures,  leaving  them  in  a  most  slovenly  style  of 
unfinish.  "I  was  with  him  one  day,"  said  Mr.  Trott,  "when 
he  pointed  to  the  portrait  of  a  gentleman,  saying,  'That  pic- 
ture has  just  been  returned  to  me,  with  the  grievous  complaint 
that  the  muslin  of  the  cravat  is  too  coarse.  Now,  sir,'  he 
continued,  with  increasing  indignation,  'I  am  determined  to 


THE  NOSE  THE  KEY  FEATURE  257 

buy  a  piece  of  the  finest  texture,  have  it  glued  on  the  part  that 
offends  their  exquisite  judgment,  and  send  it  back  again.'  ' 

On  one  occasion  (probably  more  than  one)  his  sense  of  pro- 
priety was  tortured  by  the  want  of  taste  in  the  dress  and 
decoration  of  a  sitter.  This  is  the  common  fate  of  portrait 
painters.  A  mantua-maker  of  Boston  had  drawn  a  great  prize 
in  the  lottery;  and  imagining  that  wealth  made  a  fine  lady  of 
her,  determined  that  at  least  her  appearance  should  be  fine, 
and  decorated  herself  with  all  the  choice  trumpery  of  her  own 
shop,  the  glittering  gewgaws  of  the  jewellers,  and,  with  the 
addition  of  hair  powder  and  rouge,  presented  herself  to  the 
great  portrait  painter  for  immortalization.  There  were  times 
and  humors  in  which  he  would  have  refused  the  task;  but  he 
consented  to  share  the  prize,  and  painted  the  accumulation  of 
trinket  and  trifle,  as  if  determined  to  raise  a  monument  to 
folly.  "There,"  said  he  to  a  friend,  pointing  to  the  picture,  "is 
what  I  have  all  my  painting  life  been  endeavoring  to  avoid, 
-  vanity  and  bad  taste." 

Stuart,  before  drawing  in  a  portrait,  observed  which  side  of 
the  face  gave  the  best  outline  of  the  nose,  and  chose  that  as  the 
side  nearest  the  spectator's  eye.  He  always  asserted,  that 
Likeness  depended  more  upon  the  nose  than  any  other  feature; 
and  often  related  a  real  or  imaginary  conversation,  in  which 
Charles  Fox,  Lord  A — ,  Lord  B — ,  and  Lord  C — ,  with  him- 
self, were  the  interlocutors.  He  would  give  the  arguments  of 
one  for  the  mouth,  another  (Fox),  for  the  brow,  most  for  the 
eyes;  and  concluded  by  convincing  them,  and  the  person  to 
whom  he  addressed  himself,  that  the  nose  was  the  key  feature 
of  portraiture,  by  putting  his  thumb  under  his  large  and 
flexible  proboscis,  and  turning  it  up,  so  as  to  display  the  ample 
nostrils,  he  would  exclaim,  "Who  would  know  my  portrait 
with  such  a  nose  as  this?" 

When  asked  why  he  did  not  put  his  name  or  initials,  to  mark 
his  pictures,  he  said,  "I  mark  them  all  over." 

In  a  letter  before  us  Mr.  Sargent  says,  "Stuart,  you  may 
remember  was  very  fond  of  story-telling,  and  like  all  other 
story  tellers  was  very  apt  to  repeat  them;  but  the  climax  of  this 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

sort  of  thing  was  his  repeating  stories  to  others,  who  had  told 
them  originally  to  him.  I  once  told  him  a  story  that  was  very 
interesting  and  original,  at  which  he  laughed  immoderately, 
and  on  meeting  me  the  next  morning,  he  said  he  had  a  good 
thing  to  tell  me  —  what  was  my  surprise  when  he  told  me  my 
own  story!  Knowing  his  peculiar  temper,  I  let  it  pass,  and  we 
both  laughed  heartily  —  but  we  were  laughing  with  very 
different  views  of  the  subject." 

Doctor  Waterhouse  says,  that  the  task  of  writing  Stuart's 
biography  was  expected  from  him  even  before  the  painter's 
death,  "which  induced  his  widow,  when  it  happened,  to  ex- 
press her  uneasiness,  and  to  beg  of  me  not  to  do  it."  This  was 
in  consequence  of  some  real  or  supposed  difference  between 
the  friends  in  the  decline  of  life.  The  Doctor  in  a  letter  before 
us  says,  "Gilbert  Stuart  and  I  never  quarrelled;  I  withdrew 
from  him  and  his  hot-headed  companions,  when  nullification 
reigned  in  New  England."  And  again,  "Stuart  vindicated 
me  at  the  dinner  and  supper  tables  of  the  Essex  junto,  or 
nullifiers  of  that  day,  amidst  their  insults  and  toasts,  until 
the  getting  up  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  when  I  took  my 
stand  against  it,  and  when  the  current  in  its  favor  ran  so  strong 
that  Stuart  thought  it  for  his  interest  to  yield  to  it  while  I 
opposed  it  with  all  my  might;  of  course,  Gilbert  and  I  found 
ourselves  on  opposite  banks  of  the  river." 

In  another  letter,  the  same  writer  says,  "It  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  he  had  been  on  the  stage  as  a  most  eminent  head 
painter,  nearly  sixty  years,  and  that  he  had  painted  all  the 
presidents  of  the  United  States,  the  present  one  excepted 
(1833),  and  most  of  the  distinguished  characters  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  that  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  himself  sat  to  him,  and 
that,  take  him  altogether,  he  was  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
men  our  country  has  produced.  When  I  quitted  England,  and 
entered  the  University  of  Leyden,  I  received  no  letter  from 
Stuart;  only  verbal  messages  and  kind  wishes.  During  my 
residence  at  that  seat  of  science,  he  married  and  went  over  to 
Ireland,  and  I  never  saw  him  afterwards,  till  he  called  upon  me 
here  in  Cambridge,  in,  I  think,  1802"  (1805),  "and  then  I 


A  GENIUS  AND  A  GENTLEMAN  259 

found  him  a  much-altered  man.  He  had,  it  seemed,  relished 
Irish  society,  particularly  their  conviviality."  "He  would 
sometimes  spend  several  days  together  at  my  house,  and  remain 
as  long  as  his  snuff  lasted,  and  then  nothing  could  detain  him 
from  Boston." 

On  another  occasion,  Doctor  Waterhouse  writes,  "My 
knowledge  of  him  was  during  his  struggles  up  the  hill  of  fame, 
and  not  when  he  had  surmounted  it,  and  sat  down  with  his 
bottle  to  enjoy  the  scene  below  him."  "His  prosperity  did  not 
operate  upon  him  as  it  operated  on  the  judicious  and  strictly 
moral  Benjamin  West."  "I  shall  say,  that  after  1778  Mr. 
Stuart  came  into  notice  as  a  portrait  painter  in  London,  and 
painted  several  distinguished  characters,  and  was  for  a  time  in 
the  high  road  to  fame  and  fortune,  and  would  have  secured 
both,  had  he  duly  estimated,  like  West  and  Reynolds,  the  great 
value  of  his  art,  and  wisely  appreciated  the  short-lived  grati- 
fication of  a  man  of  wit  and  pleasure  in  London,  that  whirlpool 
of  dissipation,  which  has  engulfed  many  a  bright  genius  before 
the  time  of  Gilbert  C.  Stuart."  Again  he  says,  "He  was  a  man 
of  genius  and  a  gentleman.  He  saw  the  great  merit  of  an  artist 
without  envy.  He  never  appeared  to  damn  with  fault  praise. 
When  merit  was  mistaken,  he  was  silent,  and  when  praise  was 
richly  deserved,  he  gave  it  liberally.  There  are  a  thousand 
anecdotes,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  many  of  them  unworthy 
of  his  powerful  mind."  We  have  given  one  from  the  Doctor, 
and  leave  the  reader  to  class  it  —  we  give  another.  "A  gentle- 
man of  an  estimable  character,  and  of  no  small  consequence 
in  his  own  eyes,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  employed  our 
artist  to  paint  his  portrait,  and  that  of  his  wife,  who  when  he 
married  her  was  a  very  rich  widow,  born  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  This  worthy  woman  was  very  homely,  while  the 
husband  was  handsome,  and  of  a  noble  figure.  The  painter, 
as  usual,  made  the  best  of  the  lady,  but  could  not  make  her  so 
handsome  as  the  husband  wished,  and  preserve  the  likeness. 
He  expressed  in  polite  terms  his  dissatisfaction,  and  wished  him 
to  try  over  again.  The  painter  did  so,  and  sacrificed  as  much 
of  the  likeness  to  good  looks,  as  he  possibly  could,  or  ought. 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Still  the  complaisant  husband  was  uneasy,  and  the  painter  was 
teased  from  one  month's  end  to  another  to  alter  it.  At  length 
he  began  to  fret,  and  to  pacify  him  Stuart  told  him  that  it  was 
a  common  remark,  that  wives  were  very  rarely,  if  ever,  pleased 
with  pictures  of  their  husbands,  unless  they  were  living  ones. 
On  the  other  side,  husbands  were  as  seldom  pleased  with  the 
paintings  of  their  beloved  wives,  and  gave  him  a  very  plausible 
reason  for  it.  Once  they  unluckily  both  got  out  of  temper  at 
the  same  time,  and  snapped  out  their  frettings  accordingly.  At 
last  the  painter's  patience,  which  had  been  some  time  thread- 
bare, broke  out,  when  he  jumped  up,  laid  down  his  palette, 
took  a  large  pinch  of  snuff,  and  walking  rapidly  up  and  down 
the  room,  exclaimed,  'What  a  —  —business  is  this  of  a  portrait 
painter  —  you  bring  him  a  potato,  and  expect  he  will  paint 
you  a  peach.' ' 

One  of  the  most  unequivocal  testimonies  to  the  truth  of 
Stuart's  portrait  of  Washington  is,  that  when  Vanderlyn  was 
employed  by  Congress  to  paint  a  full  length  of  the  hero  for 
the  nation,  it  was  stipulated  that  he  should  copy  the  counte- 
nance from  Stuart's  original  picture  in  the  possession  of  the 
Boston  Athenaeum. 

Immediately  upon  hearing  of  the  decease  of  our  great  por- 
trait painter,  the  artists  of  Philadelphia  met,  and  published 
a  number  of  resolutions  expressive  of  their  regret. 

I  will  close  this  biographical  notice  of  Gilbert  Stuart,  by 
an  extract  from  a  letter  dated  October  15,  1833,  from  Mr. 
Allston,  and  another  from  the  publication  he  mentions.  "I 
became  acquainted  with  Stuart  after  my  return  from  Italy,  and 
saw  much  of  him  both  before,  and  since  my  last  visit  to  Europe. 
Of  the  character  of  our  intercourse  you  can  form  an  opinion 
from  these  few  lines,  extracted  from  an  obituary  notice  of  him 
I  wrote  (published  in  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,  a  few  days 
after  his  decease);  his  uniform  kindness,  and  the  unbroken 
friendship  with  which  he  honored  the  writer  of  this,  will  never 
be  forgotten.  To  this  I  may  add,  that  I  learned  much  from 
him  in  my  art."  The  obituary  notice  was  as  follows: 

"During  the  last  week  the  remains  of  Gilbert  Stuart,  Esq. 


RALPH  EARL 
1751  -  1801 


STUART'S  HIGH  REPUTATION  261 

were  consigned  to  the  tomb.  He  was  born  in  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island  in  the  year  1754.  Soon  after  coming  of  age  he 
went  to  England,  where  he  became  the  pupil  of  Mr.  West, 
the  late  distinguished  president  of  the  Royal  Academy.  Stuart 
there  rose  to  eminence;  nor  was  it  a  slight  distinction  that 
his  claims  were  acknowledged  even  during  the  life  of  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds.  His  high  reputation  as  a  portrait  painter, 
as  well  in  Ireland  as  in  England,  having  thus  introduced  him  to 
a  large  acquaintance  among  the  higher  classes  of  society,  both 
fortune  and  fame  attended  his  progress;  insomuch  that,  had 
he  chosen  to  remain  in  England,  they  would  doubtless  have 
rewarded  him  with  their  highest  gifts.  But,  admired  and 
patronized  as  he  was,  he  chose  to  return  to  his  native  country. 
He  was  impelled  to  this  step,  as  he  often  declared,  by  a  desire 
to  give  to  Americans  a  faithful  portrait  of  Washington,  and 
thus  in  some  measure  to  associate  his  own  with  the  name  of 
the  father  of  his  country.  And  well  is  his  ambition  justified 
in  the  sublime  head  he  has  left  us:  a  nobler  personification  of 
wisdom  and  goodness,  reposing  hi  the  majesty  of  a  serene 
conscience,  is  not  to  be  found  on  canvas.  He  returned  to 
America  in  the  year  1793,  and  resided  chiefly  in  Philadelphia 
and  Washington,  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  till  about 
the  year  1805,  when  he  removed  to  Boston,  where  he  remained 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  During  the  last  ten  years  of  his 
life  he  had  to  struggle  with  many  infirmities;  yet  such  was 
the  vigor  of  his  mind,  that  it  seemed  to  triumph  over  the 
decays  of  nature,  and  to  give  to  some  of  his  last  productions 
all  the  truth  and  splendor  of  his  prime. 

"Gilbert  Stuart  was  not  only  one  of  the  first  painters  of  his 
time,  but  must  have  been  admitted  by  all  who  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  knowing  him,  to  have  been  even  out  of  his  art,  an 
extraordinary  man;  one  who  would  have  found  distinction 
easy  in  any  other  profession  or  walk  of  life.  His  mind  was  of 
a  strong  and  original  cast,  his  perceptions  as  clear  as  they 
were  just,  and  in  the  power  of  illustration  he  has  rarely  been 
equalled.  On  almost  every  subject,  more  especially  on  such 
as  were  connected  with  his  art,  his  conversation  was  marked 


262  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

by  wisdom  and  knowledge;  while  the  uncommon  precision 
and  elegance  of  his  language  seemed  ever  to  receive  an  addi- 
tional grace  from  his  manner,  which  was  that  of  a  well-bred 
gentleman. 

"The  narrations  and  anecdotes  with  which  his  knowledge  of 
men  and  of  the  world  had  stored  his  memory,  and  which  he  often 
gave  with  great  beauty  and  dramatic  effect,  were  not  unfre- 
quently  employed  by  Mr.  Stuart  in  a  way,  and  with  an  ad- 
dress peculiar  to  himself.  From  this  store  it  was  his  custom 
to  draw  largely  while  occupied  with  his  sitters  —  apparently 
for  their  amusement;  but  his  object  was  rather,  by  thus  ban- 
ishing all  restraint,  to  call  forth  if  possible  some  involuntary 
traits  of  the  natural  character.  But  these  glimpses  of  character, 
mixed  as  they  are  in  all  men  with  so  much  that  belongs 
to  their  age  and  associates,  would  have  been  of  little  use  to  an 
ordinary  observer;  for  the  faculty  of  distinguishing  between 
the  accidental  and  the  permanent,  in  other  words,  between  the 
conventional  expression  which  arises  from  manners,  and  that 
more  subtle  indication  of  the  individual  mind,  is  indeed  no 
common  one:  and  by  no  one  with  whom  we  are  acquainted, 
was  this  faculty  possessed  in  so  remarkable  a  degree.  It  was 
this  which  enabled  him  to  animate  his  canvas  —  not  with  the 
appearance  of  mere  general  life  —  but  with  that  peculiar,  dis- 
tinctive life  which  separates  the  humblest  individual  from  his 
kind.  He  seemed  to  dive  into  the  thoughts  of  men  —  for  they 
were  made  to  rise,  and  to  speak  on  the  surface.  Were  other 
evidences  wanting,  this  talent  alone  were  sufficient  to  establish 
his  claims  as  a  man  of  genius;  since  it  is  the  privilege  of  genius 
alone  to  measure  at  once  the  highest  and  the  lowest.  In  his 
happier  efforts  no  one  ever  surpassed  him  in  embodying  (if 
we  may  so  speak)  these  transient  apparitions  of  the  soul. 
Of  this  not  the  least  admirable  instance  is  his  portrait  (painted 
within  the  last  four  years)  of  the  late  President  Adams;  whose 
then  bodily  tenement  seemed  rather  to  present  the  image  of 
some  dilapidated  castle,  than  that  of  the  habitation  of  the 
*  unbroken  mind':  but  not  such  is  the  picture;  called  forth  as 
from  its  crumbling  recesses,  the  living  tenant  is  there  —  still 


ABIGAIL  BURR 

1774  —  1799 
BY  RALPH  EARL 

Prom  the  collection  of  Mrs.  II.  K .  Knapp 


AN  IMITATOR  OF  COPLEY  263 

ennobling  the  ruin,  and  upholding  it,  as  it  were  by  the  strength 
of  his  own  life.  In  this  venerable  ruin  will  the  unbending  patriot 
and  the  gifted  artist  speak  to  posterity  of  the  first  glorious 
century  of  our  Republic. 

"In  a  word,  Gilbert  Stuart  was,  in  its  widest  sense,  a  philos- 
opher in  his  art;  he  thoroughly  understood  its  principles;  as 
his  works  bear  witness  —  whether  as  to  the  harmony  of  colors, 
or  of  lines,  or  of  light  and  shadow  —  showing  that  exquisite 
sense  of  a  whole,  which  only  a  man  of  genius  can  realize  and 
embody. 

"We  cannot  close  this  brief  notice  without  a  passing  record  of 
his  generous  bearing  towards  his  professional  brethren.  He 
never  suffered  the  manliness  of  his  nature  to  darken  with  the 
least  shadow  of  jealousy,  but  where  praise  was  due,  he  gave 
it  freely,  and  gave  too  with  a  grace  which  showed  that,  loving 
excellence  for  its  own  sake,  he  had  a  pleasure  in  praising. 
To  the  younger  artists  he  was  uniformly  kind  and  indulgent, 
and  most  liberal  of  his  advice;  which  no  one  ever  properly 
asked  but  he  received,  and  in  a  manner  no  less  courteous 
than  impressive.  The  unbroken  kindness  and  friendship  with 
which  he  honored  the  writer  of  this  imperfect  sketch  will 
never  be  forgotten. 

"In  the  world  of  art,  Mr.  Stuart  has  left  a  void  that  will  not 
soon  be  filled.  And  well  may  his  country  say,  'a  great  man 
has  passed  from  amongst  us':  but  Gilbert  Stuart  has  be- 
queathed her  what  is  paramount  to  power  —  since  no  power 
can  command  it  —  the  rich  inheritance  of  his  fame." 

EARL. 

In  the  year  1775  Mr.  Earl  painted  portraits  in  Connecti- 
cut. I  remember  seeing  two  full  lengths  of  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Dwight  and  his  wife,  painted  in  1777,  as  Earl  thought,  in 
the  manner  of  Copley.  They  showed  some  talent,  but  the 
shadows  were  black  as  charcoal  or  ink.  In  the  year  1775, 
Earl,  as  one  of  the  governor's  guard  of  militia,  was  marched 
to  Cambridge,  and  soon  afterwards  to  Lexington,  where  he 
made  drawings  of  the  scenery,  and  subsequently  composed 


264  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  first  historical  pictures,  perhaps,  ever  attempted  in  America, 
which  were  engraved  by  his  companion,  in  arms,  Mr.  Amos 
Doolittle.  Mr.  Earl  studied  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  West, 
immediately  after  the  independence  of  his  country  was  estab- 
lished, and  returned  home  in  1786.  He  painted  many  portraits 
in  New  York,  and  more  in  Connecticut.  The  time  of  his  death 
is  unknown  to  us.  He  had  considerable  merit  —  a  breadth  of 
light  and  shadow  —  facility  of  handling,  and  truth  in  likeness, 
but  he  prevented  improvement  and  destroyed  himself  by 
habitual  intemperance.1 

CAMPBELL  — 1776. 

In  a  letter  from  General  Washington  to  Col.  Joseph  Reed,  he 
thanks  him  for  a  picture  sent  by  him  to  Mrs.  Washington,  and 
meant  as  a  portrait  of  the  general,  which  was  painted  by  a 
Mr.  Campbell,  whom  Washington  says  he  never  saw.  The  letter 
is  dated  from  Cambridge,  in  1776;  the  writer  says  the  painter 
has  "  made  a  very  formidable  figure  of  the  commander  in 
chief." 


1  Ralph  Earl,  son  of  Ralph  and  Phebe  Whittemore  Earl,  was  born  in  Shrewsbury, 
Mass.,  May  11,  1751.  He  died  "of  intemperance"  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Samuel  Cooly, 
August  16,  1801,  according  to  the  church  record  at  Bolton,  Conn. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HISTORY    OF    MINIATURE    PAINTING  —  RAMAGE  —  JAMES 
PEALE  —  BROWN  —  DUCHE  —  FULTON  —  CORAM. 

THIS  department  of  art,  from  its  reduced  scale,  and  conse- 
quent minuteness,  does  not  fill  the  eye,  or  dazzle  the  imagina- 
tion, so  as  to  come  in  competition  with  the  higher  order  of 
historic  composition,  or  even  with  the  portraits  of  Titian,  or 
Van  Dyck,  and  other  masters  who  painted  in  the  large  or  life 
size,  and  had  the  grandeur  which  depends  so  much  upon  an 
opportunity  of  giving  vigor  of  style  and  breadth  of  effect. 

It  nevertheless  possesses  many  advantages  for  the  objects  of 
portraiture,  peculiarly  its  own;  and  is  equally  susceptible  of 
truth  in  resemblance,  and  beauty  of  execution  with  works 
executed  of  a  large  size.  In  composition,  color,  light,  and 
shadow,  it  is  governed  by  the  same  principles  as  other  depart- 
ments of  the  art,  and  is  capable  of  carrying  them  to  as  great  a 
degree  of  perfection. 

The  early  history  of  miniature  painting  is  extremely  obscure, 
and  so  completely  confounded  with  the  history  of  the  art  in 
general,  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  to  separate  it. 

A  consecutive  notice  of  the  practitioners  of  miniature  paint- 
ing would  be  more  than  our  limits  would  admit.  A  sketch  of 
its  progress  is  all  I  can  promise. 

The  first  mention  made  of  miniature  painters  in  the  annals 
of  legitimate  painting,  and  distinct  from  illuminators,  appears 
to  be  of  painters  in  oil,  of  what  are  now  called  cabinet  pictures; 
for  such  a  title  is  given  to  John  De  Laer,  a  painter- in  the  Dutch 
school,  of  landscape  and  figures.  He  is,  by  the  historians, 
called  the  first  miniature  painter  of  his  time. 

This  definition  of  miniature  painting  is  wide  of  our  present 
purpose,  as  I  shall  confine  my  remarks  to  those  only  who 
painted  in  water  colors  and  on  vellum,  paper  or  ivory;  that  is, 
in  what  is  now  called  miniature  painting. 

265 


266  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

The  earliest  artist,  coming  within  this  limit  is  Giotto,  an 
illuminator  of  manuscript;  which  practice  was  in  great  repute 
as  early  as  the  eleventh  century,  and  continued  so  to  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth.  Giotto  may  be  considered  the  founder  of 
miniature  painting,  or  at  least  it  received  so  much  improve- 
ment from  his  pencil,  as  to  entitle  him  to  the  credit  of  the 
invention.  Baldinucci,  states  that  Giotto  executed  a  series  of 
histories  from  the  Old  Testament,  in  miniature,  and  speaks  of 
it  as  a  work  of  most  exquisite  minuteness  and  finish. 

I  believe  the  general  practice  of  that  day  extended  no 
farther  than  neat  outlining,  filled  up  with  vermilion,  or  red 
lead.  Brightness  of  color  and  gilding,  were  the  chief  objects 
aimed  at  by  the  illuminators  of  manuscripts,  and  they  fre- 
quently succeeded  in  producing  the  most  dazzling  effects. 

The  introduction  of  the  art  of  printing  destroyed  the  fetters 
that  limited  knowledge  to  the  rich  only;  and  of  course  de- 
stroyed this  expensive  mode  of  book  making.  What  resource 
the  miniature  painters  of  that  period  had  I  know  not.  I  shall 
therefore  confine  myself  to  the  mere  notice  of  the  practice  of 
illuminating,  and  pass  on  to  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  time  when  we  find  min- 
iature painting  in  great  repute  for  the  purpose  of  portraiture. 

Sir  Balthasar  Gerbier,  a  miniature  painter  of  Antwerp, 
visited  England  in  1613,  and  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
painters  of  his  day.  He  was  principal  painter  in  small  to 
Charles  the  First,  by  whom  he  was  knighted,  and  he  was  also 
employed  by  the  court  in  many  important  missions.  He  was 
sent  to  Flanders  to  negotiate  privately  a  treaty  with  Spain, 
the  very  treaty  (remarks  Walpole)  in  which  Rubens  was  com- 
missioned on  the  part  of  the  Infanta,  and  for  which  end  that 
great  pain  ten  visited  England. 

Of  the  English  miniature  painters  of  this  period,  none  ranked 
higher  than  Hilliard  and  Oliver;  "the  first  native  artists," 
says  Walpole,  "who  have  any  claims  to  distinction."  Hilliard 
painted  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  which  procured  him  universal 
fame,  and  he  was  soon  after  appointed  principal  painter  in 
small  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  whose  picture  he  also  painted.  His 


JAMES  PEALE 
1749-1831 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  Mr.  Gilbert  S.  Parker 


ENGLISH  MINIATURISTS  267 

works  are  celebrated  for  their  elaborate  finish,  and  their  force 
and  truth. 

About  this  time  also  flourished  Cooper,  called  the  Van 
Dyck  of  his  time  in  miniature.  That  sycophantic  coxcomb 
Pepys  quaintly  calls  him  "the  great  limner  in  little."  His  pencil 
was  generally  confined  to  a  head  only;  and  so  far  he  was  con- 
sidered to  surpass  all  others.  His  most  famous  production  is 
the  miniature  portrait  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 

"This  miniature,"  says  Walpole,  "enlarged  by  a  magnify- 
ing glass,  will  compare  with  any  of  Van  Dyck's  portraits,"  and 
he  believes  that  Van  Dyck  would  appear  less  great  by  the 
comparison. 

This  celebrated  picture  (as  well,  I  believe,  as  all  the  minia- 
tures of  this  period),  is  painted  wholly  with  opaque  colors. 

The  exact  time  of  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  transparent 
colors,  as  now  practised,  is  difficult  to  ascertain.  The  draperies 
are  at  present  only  executed  in  opaque  pigments,  though 
the  French  school  still  retain  them  for  then1  backgrounds,  as 
well  as  draperies. 

The  merit  of  first  painting  miniatures  in  transparent  colors 
is  accorded  by  some  to  Jeremiah  Myers,  an  English  artist.  I 
cheerfully  award  him  all  praise  for  the  introduction  of  a  prac- 
tice which  contributes  so  much  to  give  aerial  transparency, 
tone,  and  at  the  same  time  depth  and  richness  to  this  interesting 
department  of  art. 

As  this  work  is  only  a  record  of  American  artists,  or  such 
as  practised  their  art  in  America,  I  conclude  this  sketch  of 
the  history  of  miniature  painting,  by  a  notice  of  the  first  minia- 
ture painter  of  whom  I  have  knowledge,  and  who  now  succeeds 
in  chronological  arrangement. 

JOHN  RAMAGE.1 

This  was  an  Irish  gentleman,  who  painted  miniatures  in 
Boston  and  married  there.  He  left  it  with  the  British  troops, 
and  was  as  early  as  1777  established  in  William  Street,  New 

1  John  Ramage  was  an  Irishman  who  settled  in  Boston  prior  to  the  Revolution  and 
was  loyal  to  the  crown.  He  was  Lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Irish  Volunteers  formed  in 
1775  for  the  defense  of  Boston  and  in  1776  he  went  to  Halifax,  N.  S.  Subsequently  he 


268  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

York,  and  continued  to  paint  all  the  military  heroes  or  beaux 
of  the  garrison,  and  all  the  belles  of  the  place.  He  did  not 
accompany  the  army  when  it  left  our  shores,  but  continued 
the  best  artist  in  his  branch  for  many  years  after.  Mr.  Ramage 
occasionally  painted  in  crayons  or  pastel,  the  size  of  life.  His 
miniatures  were  in  the  line  style,  as  opposed  to  the  dotted.  I 
admired  them  much  in  the  days  of  youth,  and  my  opinion  of 
their  merit  is  confirmed,  by  seeing  some  of  them  recently.  Mr. 
Ramage  was  a  handsome  man  of  the  middle  size,  with  an  intel- 
ligent countenance  and  lively  eye.  He  dressed  fashionably, 
and  according  to  the  time,  beauishly.  A  scarlet  coat  with 
mother-of-pearl  buttons  —  a  white  silk  waistcoat  embroidered 
with  colored  flowers  —  black  satin  breeches  and  paste  knee 
buckles  —  white  silk  stockings  —  large  silver  buckles  in  his 
shoes  —  a  small  cocked  hat,  covering  the  upper  portion  of  his 
well-powdered  locks,  leaving  the  curls  at  the  ears  displayed  —  a 
gold-headed  cane  and  gold  snuff  box,  completed  his  costume. 
When  the  writer  returned  from  Europe  in  1787,  Mr.  Ramage 
introduced  to  him  a  second  wife;  but  he  was  changed,  and 
evidently  declining  through  fast  living. 

JAMES  PEALE1 

Who  had  been  taught  by  his  brother  Charles  Willson,  painted 
during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  long  after  in  Philadel- 

went  to  New  York  where  he  again  served  in  the  British  Army,  remained  after  its 
evacuation,  and  soon  became  the  fashionable  miniature  painter  of  that  city.  He  was 
a  Mason,  a  member  of  St.  Johns  Lodge  No.  1  of  New  York,  a  pew  holder  in  St.  George's 
Chapel  and  a  member  of  the  New  York  Marine  Society.  This  indicates  that  up  to 
that  time  Ramage  was  a  respectable  member  of  society.  The  records  of  Trinity 
Church,  Boston,  show  that  John  Ramage  and  Victoria  Ball  were  married  in  Boston 
March  8,  1776.  When  he  went  to  Halifax  (according  to  a  letter  from  Rev.  Mather 
Byles  at  Halifax  to  Rev.  Dr.  Walter  at  Boston)  Ramage  deserted  his  wife  in  Boston 
and  was  promptly  married  again  in  Halifax  to  a  Mrs.  Taylor.  His  first  wife  followed 
him  to  Halifax  and  secured  a  divorce  through  the  help  of  Rev.  Mather  Byles.  Ramage 
and  his  second  wife  left  Halifax  for  New  York  in  June,  1777,  where  he  became  involved 
in  debt  and  fled  to  Canada  in  1794.  He  died  in  Montreal,  Canada,  October  24,  1802. 
He  was  an  accomplished  artist.  Washington  records  in  his  diary  under  date  of  October 
8,  1789,  "Sat  to  Mr.  Ramage  near  two  hours  today,  who  was  drawing  a  miniature 
picture  of  me  for  Mrs.  Washington." 

1  James  Peale  was  born  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  in  1749  and  died  in  Philadelphia  May 
24,  1831.  He  painted  a  miniature  on  ivory  of  Washington  in  1788  and  a  portrait  of 
Washington  in  miniature  on  paper  was  made  by  him  in  1795.  His  own  portrait  in 
miniature,  made  by  himself  and  here  reproduced,  is  evidence  that  he  was  an  excellent 
painter. 


A  NAMESAKE  OF  MATHER  BYLES  269 

phia,  and  south  of  it.  His  principal  work  was  miniature,  but 
he  painted  portraits  in  oil  we  believe  as  late  as  1812.  We 
never  saw  any  of  them,  and  their  reputation  was  never  high. 
Mr.  James  Peale  left  several  children  who  became  artists,  as 
did  those  of  his  brother  Charles,  also. 

MATHER  BnowN.1 

Mr.  Brown  about  the  year  1779  painted  in  London.  In  the 
year  1785  he  appeared  to  have  full  employment,  and  painted 
much  (especially  theatrical  performers)  on  speculation.  He 
had  several  large  pictures  in  the  exhibition  at  Somerset  House, 
figures  the  size  of  life,  representing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pope,  in 
Beverly  and  wife  in  the  Gamester;  and  Mrs.  Martyr,  as  the 
page  of  the  Follies  of  a  Day,  and  other  like  compositions. 
They  were  hung  in  the  outer  room  at  Somerset  House,  and 
not  in  the  saloon  of  honor. 

Brown  was  not  highly  esteemed  as  a  painter.  He  had  dis- 
gusted Stuart  by  some  meanness  of  conduct,  but  could  not 
easily  be  repulsed  from  his  house.  As  the  great  portrait  painter, 
then  in  the  blaze  of  popularity,  stood  looking  out  from  his 

1  Mather  Brown,  born  in  Boston,  October  7,  1761,  was  the  son  of  Gawen  Brown, 
a  noted  clockmaker.  His  mother  was  Elizabeth  Byles,  daughter  of  the  Tory  clergy- 
man, Mather  Byles.  She  died  when  he  was  an  infant,  and  his  father  marrying  again, 
Mather  was  brought  up  by  two  maiden  aunts,  the  Misses  Mary  and  Catharine  Byles, 
in  Boston,  and  for  whom  Brown  painted  his  own  portrait,  which  is  reproduced,  hold- 
ing a  letter  he  had  written  to  them.  In  his  nineteenth  year  Brown  went  to  Paris, 
carrying  introductions  from  his  grandfather  to  Doctor  Franklin,  as  also  to  Copley 
and  others  in  London.  In  1781  he  received  instruction  from  Benjamin  West.  An 
obituary  of  Brown  says:  "His  admiration  of  the  talents  of  his  preceptor,  who  was 
always  kind  to  his  pupil,  amounted  to  idolatry."  Before  leaving  America  Brown  had 
limned  some  miniatures,  but  none  of  his  work  mentioned  in  the  letter  which  he  writes 
his  aunts  from  London,  June  6,  1783,  "I  have  entirely  left,"  has  been  identified. 

Many  Americans  in  London  sat  to  Brown  for  their  portraits,  including  Jefferson 
and  John  Adams.  The  former  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Adams  family  and  the  latter 
belongs  to  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  Brown  was  styled  "Historical  Painter  to  His 
Majesty  and  the  late  Duke  of  York,"  and  he  painted,  among  others  of  the  royal 
family,  a  fine  full  length  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  later  George  IV.,  which  is  in  the  royal 
collection  at  Buckingham  Palace.  A  monumental  whole  length  of  King  George  III, 
signed  and  dated  1790,  was  recently  (1917)  brought  to  this  country.  Besides  portraits 
Brown  painted  a  number  of  historical  compositions,  some  of  events  in  the  Orient,  such 
as  the  "Marquis  Cornwallis  receiving  as  Hostages  the  Sons  of  Tippoo  Sahib,"  which 
would  indicate  that  he  had  visited  the  East.  He  was  an  exhibitor  at  the  Royal  Academy 
for  nearly  fifty  years  and  died  in  London  at  his  residence,  Newman  Street,  May  25, 
1831.  Brown's  painting  was  usually  dry,  hard  and  precise,  but  sometimes  it  was  quite 
free  and  mellow,  as  in  the  canvas  reproduced,  which  is  one  of  his  best  portraits. 


270  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

front  window,  he  saw  Mather  Brown  pass,  look  at  him  and 
apply  to  the  knocker  of  his  door.  "Say  I  am  not  at  home," 
was  the  order  to  the  servant.  "Mr.  Stuart  is  not  at  home,  sir." 
"Yes  he  is  —  I  saw  him  at  the  window."  "Yes  sir,  and  he 
saw  you,  and  he  says  he  is  not  at  home." 

Brown  was  born  in  America  about  the  year  1763,  and  his 
first  name,  Mather,  marks  him  as  from  Massachusetts.  He 
was  one  of  the  many  who  called  themselves  the  pupils  of  Ben- 
jamin West,  and  undoubtedly  received  his  instruction.  His 
father  was  probably  a  loyalist  of  Boston,  and  left  America  at 
the  commencement  of  the  contest  for  liberty. 

Mr.  Allston  says,  "I  am  pretty  sure  that  Mather  Brown 
was  a  native  of  Boston.  I  have  heard  that  he  was  the  son  of 
a  celebrated  clockmaker  —  the  maker  of  the  '  Old  South'  clock 
in  Boston,  which  is  said  to  be  an  uncommon  piece  of  mechan- 
ism. Leslie  must  be  mistaken  as  to  my  having  any  anecdotes 
of  Mather  Brown.  If  I  ever  had  any,  they  have  entirely  es- 
caped from  my  mind:  I  have  not  the  slightest  recollection 
of  one,  except  (if  it  may  be  called  an  anecdote)  my  meeting 
him  once  at  Mr.  West's  in  a  cap-a-pie  suit  of  brown,  even  to 
stockings,  wig  and  complexion.  He  must,  I  think,  have  held 
a  respectable  rank  as  an  artist,  as  I  remember  that  he  lived  in 
either  Cavendish  or  Manchester  Square.  But  for  myself,  I 
have  not  sufficient  recollection  of  his  pictures,  to  express  any 
opinion  on  the  subject." 

In  a  letter  from  a  person  in  London  to  his  friend  in  Boston, 
dated  March  6,  1789,  are  these  words:  "Your  countryman 
Mather  Brown,  is  well,  and  in  the  highest  state  of  success. 
He  now  rents  a  house  of  £120  a  year,  and  keeps  a  servant  in 
livery,  and  is  appointed  portrait  painter  to  his  royal  highness 
the  Duke  of  York.  He  has  a  great  run  of  business,  and  has 
not  only  painted  a  great  many  of  our  nobility,  but  also  the 
Prince  of  Wales." 

In  answer  to  a  question  put  to  Mr.  Leslie,  he  says  "I  was 
once  in  Mather  Brown's  rooms,  and  a  more  melancholy  dis- 
play of  imbecility  I  never  witnessed.  Imagine  two  large  rooms 
crowded  with  pictures,  great  and  small,  historical  and  por- 


MATHER  BROWN 
1761  — 1831 
BT  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  Mrs.  Frederick  L.  Gay 


A  GOOD  BARGAIN  REFUSED  271 

trait  —  in  some  places  several  files  deep.  I  thought  of  Gay's 
lines: 

'In  dusty  piles  his  pictures  lay, 
For  no  one  sent  the  second  pay.' 

And  in  all  this  waste  of  canvas  not  one  single  idea,  nor  any 
one  beauty  of  art.  He  seemed  to  possess  facility,  but  nothing 
else.  Those  of  his  canvasses  that  looked  most  like  pictures, 
exhibited  a  feeble  imitation  of  the  manner  of  West,  but  wholly 
destitute  of  any  one  principle  of  his  master. 

"He  told  me  that  when  a  boy,  he  was  the  playfellow  of 
Raphael  West  and  young  Copley  (now  Lord  Lyndhurst),  and 
that  he  and  Ralph  had  often,  while  bathing,  given  the  chan- 
cellor in  embryo  a  ducking  in  the  Serpentine  River." 

Another  loyalist's  son  was  a  contemporary  pupil  and  painter 
with  Mather  Brown. 

THOMAS  SPENCE  DUCHE. 

He  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  probably  about  1766.1  His 
father  (who  as  a  boy  was  a  schoolmate  of  Benjamin  West),  at 
the  time  of  colonial  opposition  to  Britain,  was  well  known  as  a 
Tory  clergyman,  and  removed  from  the  land  of  rebellion. 

The  grandfather  of  the  painter  was  a  Protestant  refugee 
from  France,  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  William  Penn.  — 
During  the  voyage  Penn  borrowed  twenty  pounds  of  the 
Frenchman;  and  when  they  arrived  in  Pennsylvania,  offered 
him,  as  payment,  a  square  in  his  city  of  Philadelphia,  meaning 
thereby  to  show  his  friendship.  Duche,  however,  very  courte- 
ously refused,  saying,  he  "would  rather  have  the  money." 
"Blockhead!"  said  Penn,  "thou  shalt  have  the  money;  but 
canst  thou  not  see  that  this  will  be  a  great  city  in  a  little  time?  " 
Duche  afterwards  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  proved 
himself  a  blockhead,  when  he  saw  the  square  he  had  refused, 
as  an  equivalent  for  twenty  pounds,  sold  for  as  many  thousands. 

Watson,  the  antiquary,  of  Pennsylvania,  says,  "that  an 
aged  woman,  who  gamed  a  subsistence  by  selling  cakes,  re- 

1  Thomas  Spence  Duche,  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duch£,  was  born  in  September,  1763. 
He  studied  with  Benjamin  West  in  London,  and  died  March  31,  1790. 


872  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

membered  that  her  grandfather  had  received  the  ground  now 
occupied  by  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  Philadelphia, 
together  with  half  the  square,  for  his  services,  as  chain  bearer, 
in  surveying  the  site  of  the  intended  city.  She  had  lived  to  see 
the  Bank  erected  on  a  part  of  it,  bought  for  that  purpose  with 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars!" 

But  we  have  lost  sight  of  Duche  the  painter,  who,  as  a 
Pennsylvanian  and  the  son  of  an  old  school-fellow,  had  peculiar 
claims  on  the  attention  and  instruction  of  Benjamin  West; 
but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  benevolence  of  West  was  not  confined 
within  narrow  limits. 

We  know  very  little  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  His 
picture  of  Bishop  Seabury,  the  first  of  the  three  Episcopal 
clergymen  who,  for  the  purpose  of  being  raised  to  the  Episco- 
pacy, and  thereby  be  enabled  to  build  up  and  sustain  the 
church,  without  further  reference  to  the  hierarchy  of  England, 
were  sent  to  England  soon  after  the  peace  of  1783,  is  well 
known  from  Sharpe's  engraving  from  it.  The  original  picture 
is  now  at  Washington  College,  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

The  three  gentlemen  above  mentioned  were,  White  of 
Pennsylvania,  Provost  of  New  York,  and  Seabury  of  Connecti- 
cut. Mr.  Duche  likewise  painted  the  portrait  of  Bishop  Pro- 
vost, now  in  possession  of  the  family  of  the  late  Cadwallader 
Golden,  Esq.  The  engraving,  by  Sharpe,  of  Bishop  Seabury,  is 
dedicated  to  Benjamin  West,  by  his  grateful  friend  and  pupil. 

Duche,  the  clergyman,  preached  at  a  chapel  on  the  Surrey 
side  of  the  Thames,  near  Blackfriars'  Bridge,  and  it  was  fashion- 
able to  go  to  hear  him.  An  American  lady,  very  pretty,  but 
very  pale,  when  not  assisted  by  art,  said,  "We  heard  Parson 
Duche  yesterday:  and  I  saw  his  son  too,  a  fine,  handsome 
young  man."  "Ah!  did  you?  He  paints."  "  Is  it  possible? 
Well,  I  thought  his  color  unnatural."  Thus  conscience 
not  only  makes  cowards,  but  suspicious  cowards  of  us  all. 

ROBERT  FULTON 

Was  guilty  of  painting  poor  portraits  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
year  1782,  and  is  therefore  our  next  subject.  The  parents  of 


THOMAS  DAWSON.  VISCOUNT  CREMORNE 

1725-1813 
MY  MATHER  BROWN 


273 

this  gentleman  were  of  Irish  origin:  the  father,  a  native  of 
Kilkenny;  the  mother,  a  Pennsylvanian,  by  name  Smith,  and 
descended  from  Hibernian  emigrants.  Robert  was  the  oldest 
of  two  sons:  he  had  three  sisters,  two  older  than  himself.  He 
was  born  in  Little  Britain,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1765,1  and  showed  early  indications  of  his  attach- 
ment to  mechanics;  but  was,  as  a  youth,  still  more  devoted  to 
the  pencil.  He  commenced  the  painting  of  portraits  and  land- 
scapes, as  a  profession,  at  the  age  of  seventeen;  that  is,  in  the 
year  1782;  and  continued  so  employed  until  1785.  During 
this  period  Charles  Willson  Peale  was  the  principal  painter  in 
that  city,  until  Pine's  arrival;  and  doubtless  Fulton  did  not 
neglect  the  instruction  to  be  derived  from  them  and  their 
pictures. 

Robert  Fulton,  at  the  age  of  21,  had,  by  his  industry  and 
frugality,  enabled  himself  to  purchase  a  little  farm  in  Penn- 
sylvania, on  which  he  established  his  mother;  and  soon  after 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  to  seek  instruction  from  Benjamin  West. 
That  Mr.  West  justly  appreciated  the  character  of  his  young 
countryman,  is  attested  by  his  presenting  him  with  two  pic- 
tures; one  representing  the  great  painter,  with  his  wife's  por- 
trait on  his  easel;  and  the  other,  Fulton's  own  portrait. 

Mr.  Fulton,  perhaps  by  invitation,  practised  as  a  portrait 
painter  in  Devonshire,  and  here  appears  to  have  revived  his 
attachment  to  mechanics.  Canal  navigation  attracted  his  at- 
tention, as  he  here  became  acquainted  with  the  Duke  of  Bridge- 
water,  and  they  became  united  by  their  mutual  love  of  science. 
Lord  Stanhope  and  Fulton  were  attracted  to  each  other  by 
similar  propensities.  In  1793  was  published  a  print,  engraved 
by  Sherwin,  from  a  picture,  by  Fulton,  of  Louis  XVI  in  prison, 
taking  leave  of  his  family.  The  only  copy  I  have  seen  is  pos- 
sessed by  my  friend  Dr.  Francis:  it  is  now  a  curiosity.  As 
early  as  1793,  Fulton's  mind  was  engaged  in  projects  to  im- 
prove inland  navigation.  In  1794  he  obtained  a  patent  for  a 
double  inclined  plane,  and  other  patents,  from  the  British 

1  Robert  Fulton  was  born  November  14,  1765,  the  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  Smith 
Pulton.  He  died  in  New  York  City  February  23,  1815. 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

government.  For  eighteen  months  he  resided  in  Birmingham, 
and  improved  his  knowledge  of  mechanics  in  that  great 
workshop.1 

In  1795  he  published  several  essays,  which  elicited  the  com- 
pliments and  recommendations  of  Sir  John  Sinclair  and  the 
Board  of  Agriculture.  The  profession  of  a  painter  was  aban- 
doned, and  his  knowledge  of  the  art  of  design  applied  to 
drawings  on  the  subjects  which  now  engaged  his  mind. 

In  the  year  1797  Mr.  Fulton  had  apartments  in  the  same 
Parisian  hotel  with  Joel  Barlow;  and  a  friendship  was  then 
formed  between  these  two  eminently  gifted  and  amiable  indi- 
viduals which  was  only  broken  by  death.  When  Mr.  Barlow 
established  himself  in  a  style  befitting  his  public  station,  in  a 
hotel  appropriated  to  himself  and  lady,  he  invited  Fulton  to 
make  one  of  his  family.  Here  he  resided  seven  years,  during 
which  he  studied  the  modern  languages  and  the  higher  branches 
of  science.  During  this  time  Fulton  also  projected  a  panorama, 
in  imitation  of  Barker.  It  had  some  success,  and  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  seen  in  Paris.  But  his  mind  was  occupied 
with  other  projects,  particularly  the  explosion  of  gunpowder 
under  water.  His  torpedoes  were  offered  to  the  French  and 
Dutch  governments;  and  when  Bonaparte  became  first  consul, 
he  appointed  a  commission  to  examine  Fulton's  plans  and 
assist  in  making  experiments. 

When  Chancellor  Livingston  arrived  in  Paris,  the  intimacy 
between  him  and  Fulton  commenced,  which  led  to  the  ful- 
filment of  his  destinies,  by  the  accomplishment  of  steam 
navigation. 

If  the  failure  of  Mr.  Fulton's  schemes  for  the  destruction  of 
ships  of  war,  by  torpedoes,  fixed  his  attention  upon  navigating 
vessels  by  steam,  we  may  congratulate  the  world  that  the  con- 
flicting nations  of  Europe,  to  whom  with  perfect  indifference 
he  seems  to  have  offered  his  projects  and  services,  for  the  de- 
struction of  their  enemies,  did  not  accept  of  them.  If,  as  we 
believe,  the  views  of  Mr.  Fulton  were  to  banish  naval  warfare 
from  the  world,  perhaps  that  change  which  will  take  place  in 

1  Fulton  practically  gave  up  portrait  painting  in  1794. 


THOMAS  SPENCE  DUCHfi 

1763-1790 
FROM  A  LITHOGRAPH  BY  MAX  ROSENTHAL  AFTER  A  PORTRAIT  BY  HIMSELF 


THE  SUBMARINE  BOAT  275 

defensive  warfare,  by  the  use  of  the  steam  frigate,  such  as 
Fulton  built  at  New  York,  in  harbors  and  on  coasts,  may  go 
far  to  answer  the  same  end. 

In  1801  Mr.  Fulton  repaired  to  Brest,  to  make  experiments 
with  the  plunging  boat  he  had  constructed  the  preceding 
winter.  This,  as  he  says,  had  many  imperfections,  natural  to 
a  first  machine  of  such  complicated  combinations.  Added  to 
this,  it  had  suffered  much  injury  from  rust,  in  consequence  of 
his  having  been  obliged  to  use  iron  instead  of  brass  or  copper, 
for  bolts  and  arbors. 

Notwithstanding  these  disadvantages,  he  engaged  in  a 
course  of  experiments  with  the  machine,  which  required  no 
less  courage  than  energy  and  perseverance.  Of  his  proceed- 
ings, he  made  a  report  to  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
French  executive;  from  which  report  we  learn  the  following 
interesting  facts : 

On  the  3d  July,  1801,  he  embarked  with  three  companions 
on  board  his  plunging  boat  in  the  harbor  of  Brest,  and  de- 
scended in  it  to  the  depth  of  five,  ten,  fifteen  and  so  to  twenty- 
five  feet;  but  he  did  not  attempt  to  go  lower,  because  he 
found  that  his  imperfect  machine  would  not  bear  the  pressure 
of  a  greater  depth.  He  remained  below  the  surface  one  hour. 
During  this  time  they  were  in  utter  darkness.  Afterwards  he 
descended  with  candles;  but  finding  a  great  disadvantage  from 
their,  consumption  of  vital  air,  he  caused  previously  to  his 
next  experiment,  a  small  window  of  thick  glass  to  be  made 
near  the  bow  of  his  boat,  and  he  again  descended  with  her 
on  the  24th  of  July,  1801.  He  found  that  he  received  from 
his  window,  or  rather  aperture  covered  with  glass,  for  it  was 
no  more  than  an  inch  and  a  hah*  in  diameter,  sufficient  light  to 
enable  him  to  count  the  minutes  on  his  watch.  Having  satis- 
fied himself  that  he  could  have  sufficient  light  when  under 
water;  that  he  could  do  without  a  supply  of  fresh  air  for  a 
considerable  time;  that  he  could  descend  to  any  depth,  and 
rise  to  the  surface  with  facility;  his  next  object  was  to  try  her 
movements,  as  well  on  the  surface  as  beneath  it.  On  the  26th 
of  July,  he  weighed  his  anchor  and  hoisted  his  sails:  his  boat 


276  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

had  one  mast,  a  mainsail,  and  jib.  There  was  only  a  light 
breeze,  and  therefore  she  did  not  move  on  the  surface  at  more 
than  the  rate  of  two  miles  an  hour;  but  it  was  found  that  she 
would  tack  and  steer,  and  sail  on  a  wind  or  before  it,  as  well  as 
any  common  sailing  boat.  He  then  struck  her  mast  and  sails; 
to  do  which,  and  perfectly  to  prepare  the  boat  for  plunging, 
required  about  two  minutes.  Having  plunged  to  a  certain 
depth,  he  placed  two  men  at  the  engine,  which  was  intended 
to  give  her  progressive  motion,  and  one  at  the  helm,  while 
he,  with  a  barometer  before  him,  governed  the  machine,  which 
kept  her  balanced  between  the  upper  and  lower  waters.  He 
found  that  with  the  exertion  of  one  hand  only,  he  could  keep 
her  at  any  depth  he  pleased.  The  propelling  engine  was  then 
put  in  motion,  and  he  found  upon  coming  to  the  surface,  that 
he  had,  in  about  seven  minutes,  made  a  progress  of  four  hun- 
dred meters,  or  above  five  hundred  yards.  He  then  again 
plunged,  turned  her  round  while  under  water,  and  returned 
to  near  the  place  he  began  to  move  from.  He  repeated  his 
experiments  several  days  successively,  until  he  became  familiar 
with  the  operation  of  the  machinery,  and  the  movements  of 
the  boat.  He  found  that  she  was  as  obedient  to  her  helm  under 
water,  as  any  boat  could  be  on  the  surface;  and  that  the  mag- 
netic needle  traversed  as  well  in  the  one  situation  as  the 
other. 

"On  the  7th  of  August,  Mr.  Fulton  again  descended  with  a 
store  of  atmospheric  air,  compressed  into  a  copper  globe  of  a 
cubic  foot  capacity,  into  which,  two  hundred  atmospheres  were 
forced.  Thus  prepared  he  descended  with  three  companions 
to  the  depth  of  about  five  feet.  At  the  expiration  of  an  hour 
and  forty  minutes,  he  began  to  take  small  supplies  of  pure  air 
from  his  reservoir,  and  did  so  as  he  found  occasion,  for  four 
hours  and  twenty  minutes.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he 
came  to  the  surface,  without  having  experienced  any  incon- 
venience from  having  been  so  long  under  water. 

"Mr.  Fulton  was  highly  satisfied  with  the  success  of  these 
experiments;  it  determined  him  to  attempt  to  try  the  effects  of 
these  inventions  on  the  English  ships,  which  were  then  block- 


REV.  DR.  JACOB  DUCHE  AND  WIFE 
BY  THOMAS  SPENCE  DUCHE 

From  the  collection  of  The  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


TORPEDO  EXPERIMENTS  277 

ading  the  coast  of  France,  and  were  daily  near  the  harbor  of 
Brest. 

"His  boat  at  this  time  he  called  the  submarine  boat,  or  the 
plunging  boat;  he  afterwards  gave  it  the  name  of  the  'Nautilus'; 
connected  with  this  machine,  were  what  he  then  called  sub- 
marine bombs,  to  which  he  has  since  given  the  name  of  tor- 
pedoes. This  invention  preceded  the  'Nautilus.'  It  was,  indeed, 
his  desire  of  discovering  the  means  of  applying  his  torpedoes, 
that  turned  his  thoughts  to  a  submarine  boat.  Satisfied  with 
the  performance  of  his  boat,  his  next  object  was  to  make  some 
experiments  with  the  torpedoes.  A  small  shallop  was  anchored 
in  the  roads,  with  a  bomb  containing  about  twenty  pounds  of 
powder;  he  approached  to  within  about  two  hundred  yards 
of  the  anchored  vessel,  struck  her  with  the  torpedo  and  blew 
her  into  atoms.  A  column  of  water  and  fragments  was  blown 
from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  the  air.  This  experiment 
was  made  in  the  presence  of  the  prefect  of  the  department, 
Admiral  Villaret,  and  a  multitude  of  spectators. 

"The  experimental  boat  of  Mr.  Livingston  and  Mr.  Fulton, 
was  completed  early  in  the  spring  of  1808:  they  were  on  the 
point  of  making  an  experiment  with  her,  when  one  morning 
as  Mr.  Fulton  was  rising  from  a  bed,  in  which  anxiety  had 
given  him  but  little  rest,  a  messenger  from  the  boat,  whose 
precipitation  and  apparent  consternation,  announced  that  he 
was  the  bearer  of  bad  tidings,  presented  himself  to  him,  and 
exclaimed  in  accents  of  despair,  'Oh,  sir,  the  boat  has  broken 
in  pieces,  and  gone  to  the  bottom.'  Mr.  Fulton,  who  himself 
related  the  anecdote,  declared  that  this  news  created  a  despond- 
ency which  he  had  never  felt  on  any  other  occasion;  but 
this  was  only  a  momentary  sensation.  Upon  examination,  he 
found  that  the  boat  had  been  too  weakly  framed  to  bear  the 
great  weight  of  the  machinery,  and  that  in  consequence  of  an 
agitation  of  the  river  by  the  wind  the  preceding  night,  what 
the  messenger  had  represented  had  literally  happened.  The 
boat  had  broken  in  two,  and  the  weight  of  her  machinery  had 
carried  her  fragments  to  the  bottom.  It  appeared  to  him,  as 
he  said,  that  the  fruits  of  so  many  months'  labor,  and  so  much 


S78  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

expense,  were  annihilated;  and  an  opportunity  of  demon- 
strating the  efficacy  of  his  plan  was  denied  him  at  the  moment 
he  had  promised  it  should  be  displayed.  His  disappointment 
and  feelings  may  easily  be  imagined;  but  they  did  not  check 
his  perseverance.  On  the  very  day  that  this  misfortune  hap- 
pened, he  commenced  repairing  it.  He  did  not  sit  down  idly 
to  repine  at  misfortunes  which  his  manly  exertions  might 
remedy,  or  waste,  in  fruitless  lamentations,  a  moment  of  that 
time  in  which  the  accident  might  be  repaired.  Without  return- 
ing to  his  lodgings,  he  immediately  began  to  labor  with  his 
own  hands  to  raise  the  boat,  and  worked  for  four  and  twenty 
hours  incessantly,  without  allowing  himself  rest,  or  taking 
refreshment;  an  imprudence,  which,  as  he  always  supposed, 
had  a  permanent  bad  effect  on  his  constitution,  and  to  which 
he  imputed  much  of  his  subsequent  bad  health. 

"The  accident  did  the  machinery  very  little  injury;  but  they 
were  obliged  to  build  the  boat  almost  entirely  new;  she  was 
completed  in  July:  her  length  was  sixty-six  feet,  and  she  was 
eight  feet  wide.  Early  in  August,  Mr.  Fulton  addressed  a 
letter  to  the  French  national  institute,  inviting  them  to  wit- 
ness a  trial  of  his  boat,  which  was  made  in  their  presence,  and 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  multitude  of  the  Parisians.  The 
experiment  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  Mr.  Fulton,  though 
the  boat  did  not  move  altogether  with  as  much  speed  as  he 
expected.  But  he  imputed  her  moving  so  slowly  to  the  ex- 
tremely defective  fabrication  of  the  machinery,  and  to  imper- 
fections which  were  to  be  expected  in  the  first  experiment  with 
so  complicated  a  machine;  but  which  he  saw  might  be  easily 
remedied." 

Mr.  Fulton  returned  home  in  1806,  and  renewed  his  efforts 
to  prove  that  he  could  destroy  vessels  by  invisible  means,  and 
the  next  year  he  made  an  experiment  upon  a  hulk,  anchored 
in  New  York  harbor  for  the  purpose.  The  owner  of  the  hulk 
having  consented,  the  experiment  was  fully  successful.  In 
1810,  the  United  States  made  an  appropriation  for  trying  the 
effect  of  torpedoes  and  other  submarine  explosions.  The 
experiments  were  made  upon  the  sloop  of  war  "Argus,"  Captain 


ROBERT  FULTON 

1765-1815 
BY  CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALB 


STEAMBOATS  279 

Lawrence,  but  as  she  did  not  consent,  the  experiment  failed. 
Mr.  Fulton's  friends  still  thought,  or  said,  that  the  experiments 
would  be  successful.  Commodore  Rogers  thought  and  reported 
them  altogether  impracticable. 

We  all  know  that  Fulton  was  not  the  first  who  propelled 
a  boat  by  steam,  but  we  know  that  we  owe  to  him  those 
inventions  which  remedied  the  failures  of  former  experiment- 
ers, and,  in  fact,  by  his  genius  and  skill,  created  the  steamboat. 
Fulton  was  assisted  by  friends,  with  advice  and  funds;  but 
Fulton's  were  the  mind  and  the  perseverance  which  gave  to  the 
world  a  mode  of  conveyance  for  speed,  ease,  and  certainty  so 
powerful  in  its  influence  on  travelling  and  commerce,  as  to 
have  advanced  civilization  on  its  destined  progress  beyond 
any  former  gift  bestowed  on  man,  printing  excepted.  He  thus 
writes  to  his  friend  Joel  Barlow:  "New  York,  August  2,  1807. 
My  dear  friend,  my  steamboat  voyage  to  Albany  and  back, 
has  turned  out  rather  more  favorable  than  I  had  calculated. 
The  distance  from  New  York  to  Albany  is  150  miles;  I  ran  it 
up  in  thirty-two  hours,  and  down  in  thirty  hours,  the  latter  is 
five  miles  an  hour.  I  had  a  light  breeze  against  me  the  whole 
way  going  and  coming,  so  that  no  use  was  made  of  my  sails, 
and  the  voyage  has  been  performed  wholly  by  the  power  of 
the  steam  engine.  I  overtook  many  sloops  and  schooners, 
beating  to  windward,  and  passed  them  as  if  they  had  been  at 
anchor. 

"The  power  of  propelling  boats  by  steam  is  now  fully  proved. 
The  morning  I  left  New  York,  there  were  not  perhaps  thirty 
persons  who  believed  that  the  boat  would  move  one  mile  an 
hour,  or  be  of  the  least  utility;  and  while  we  were  putting  off 
from  the  wharf,  which  was  crowded  with  spectators,  I  heard  a 
number  of  sarcastic  remarks.  This  is  the  way  you  know,  in 
which  ignorant  men  compliment  what  they  call  philosophers 
and  projectors. 

"Having  employed  much  time,  and  money,  and  zeal,  in 
accomplishing  this  work,  it  gave  me,  as  it  will  you,  great  pleas- 
ure to  see  it  so  fully  answer  my  expectations.  It  will  give  a 
cheap  and  quick  conveyance  to  merchandise  on  the  Mississippi 


280  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  Missouri,  and  other  great  rivers,  which  are  now  laying 
open  their  treasures  to  the  enterprise  of  our  countrymen.  And 
although  the  prospect  of  personal  emolument  has  been  some 
inducement  to  me,  yet  I  feel  infinitely  more  pleasure  in  reflect- 
ing with  you  on  the  immense  advantage  my  country  will 
derive  from  the  invention." 

Thus  the  first  voyage,  and  that  perfectly  successful,  was  made 
in  thirty-two  hours  from  New  York  to  Albany.  In  consequence 
of  this  first  voyage  it  is  now  made  in  nine. 

Surely  the  discoverer  enjoys  a  pleasure  greater  and  purer 
than  any  other  human  being  can  enjoy.  We  mean  the  dis- 
coverer who  has  just  views  of  the  great  advantages  which  will 
result  from  the  successful  termination  of  his  researches.  Not 
to  mention  many  others  —  let  us  reflect  upon  the  pure  and 
intense  joy  of  Columbus,  when  he  landed  on  St.  Salvador  —  of 
Franklin,  when  he  succeeded  in  drawing  the  lightning,  innocu- 
ous, from  the  thunder  cloud  —  of  Worcester,  when  convinced 
of  the  power  of  steam  —  and  of  Fulton,  when  he  saw,  felt, 
knew,  that  he  could  triumph  over  winds  and  tides,  by  machin- 
ery of  his  own  invention  —  when  he  heard  the  acclamations 
of  the  scoffers,  and  received  the  praises  of  the  wise. 

"He  published  his  work,  entitled  'Torpedo  War,  or  Sub- 
marine Explosions.'  He  adopted  as  a  motto  for  his  publica- 
tion, his  favorite  sentiment,  'The  liberty  of  the  seas  will  be 
the  happiness  of  the  earth.'  He  addressed  it  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  the  members  of  both  houses  of 
Congress :  It  contained  a  description  of  the  experiments  he  had 
made,  of  his  engines  as  he  had  improved  them,  and  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  might  be  used.  He  expressed  the  most 
sanguine  expectations  as  to  the  effects  they  would  produce, 
when  they  had  attained  the  improvements,  of  which  he  be- 
lieved them  capable,  and  had  the  advantage  of  practice,  by 
which  gunnery,  and  other  modes  of  warfare,  had  been  brought 
to  their  present  perfection."  Fulton's  ideas  respecting  sub- 
marine guns,  led  to  the  invention  of  the  steam  frigate. 

"He  communicated  to  Mr.  Jefferson  an  account  of  his 
experiments  on  submarine  firing,  with  drawings  of  his  various 


PERPETUAL  MOTION  FRAUD  281 

plans.  Mr.  Jefferson  expressed  himself  much  pleased  with  this 
novel  mode  of  maritime  warfare,  and  assured  Mr.  Fulton  that 
he  would  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of  government. 

"It  is  curious  to  observe  how  Mr.  Fulton's  projects  grew  one 
out  of  another.. 

"The  submarine  guns  gave  rise  to  the  steam  man-of-war. 

"It  having  been  suggested,  by  a  distinguished  naval  officer 
before  alluded  to,  that  in  approaching  an  enemy  so  near  as  was 
necessary  to  give  effect  to  submarine  cannon,  the  vessel  if  she 
was  rigged  in  the  ordinary  way,  would  be  liable  to  be  entangled 
with  her  adversary;  to  meet  this  objection,  Mr.  Fulton  pro- 
posed to  move  the  vessel  by  steam.  His  reflections  on  this 
project,  and  what  he  saw  of  the  performance  of  so  large  a 
vessel  as  the  'Fulton,'  her  speed,  and  the  facility  with  which  she 
was  managed,  led  him  to  conceive,  that  a  vessel  of  war  might 
be  constructed,  in  which,  to  all  the  advantages  possessed  by 
those  now  in  use,  might  be  added  the  very  important  ones 
which  she  would  derive  from  being  propelled  by  steam,  as  well 
as  by  the  winds." 

The  character  of  Mr.  Fulton  is  elucidated  by  an  incident 
given  thus  in  Colden's  life  of  him:  — 

"We  must  all  remember  how  long,  and  how  successfully, 
Redheffer  had  deluded  the  Pennsylvanians  by  his  perpetual 
motion. 

"Many  men  of  ingenuity,  learning,  and  science  had  seen 
the  machine:  some  had  written  on  the  subject;  not  a  few  of 
these  were  his  zealous  advocates;  and  others,  though  they  were 
afraid  to  admit  that  he  had  made  a  discovery  which  violated 
what  were  believed  to  be  the  established  laws  of  nature,  ap- 
peared also  afraid  to  deny  what  the  incessant  motion  of  his 
wheels  and  weights  seemed  to  prove.  These  contrived  ingenious 
theories,  which  were  hardly  less  wonderful  than  the  perpetual 
motion  itself.  They  supposed  that  Redheffer  had  discovered 
a  means  of  developing  gradually  some  hidden  power,  which 
though  it  could  not  give  motion  to  his  machine  forever,  would 
keep  it  going  for  some  period,  which  they  did  not  pretend  to 
determine. 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"One  of  these  perpetual  motions  commenced  its  career  in 
New  York  in  eighteen  hundred  and  thirteen.  Mr.  Fulton  was  a 
perfect  unbeliever  in  Redheffer's  discovery,  and  although  hun- 
dreds were  daily  paying  then*  dollar  to  see  the  wonder,  Mr. 
Fulton  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  for  some  time  to  follow  the 
crowd.  After  a  few  days,  however,  he  was  induced  by  some  of 
his  friends  to  visit  the  machine.  It  was  in  an  isolated  house  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  city. 

"In  a  very  short  time  after  Mr.  Fulton  had  entered  the 
room  in  which  it  was  exhibited,  he  exclaimed,  'Why,  this  is  a 
crank  motion.'  His  ear  enabled  him  to  distinguish  that  the 
machine  was  moved  by  a  crank,  which  always  gives  an  unequal 
power,  and  therefore  an  unequal  velocity  in  the  course  of  each 
revolution :  and  a  nice  and  practised  ear  may  perceive  that  the 
sound  is  not  uniform.  If  the  machine  had  been  kept  in  motion 
by  what  was  its  ostensible  moving  power,  it  must  have  had  an 
equable  rotary  motion,  and  the  sound  would  have  been  always 
the  same. 

"After  some  little  conversation  with  the  showman,  Mr. 
Fulton  did  not  hesitate  to  declare,  that,  the  machine  was  an 
imposition,  and  to  tell  the  gentleman  that  he  was  an  impostor. 

"Notwithstanding  the  anger  and  bluster  which  these  charges 
excited,  he  assured  the  company  that  the  thing  was  a  cheat, 
and  that  if  they  would  support  him  in  the  attempt,  he  would 
detect  it  at  the  risk  of  paying  any  penalty  if  he  failed. 

"Having  obtained  the  assent  of  all  who  were  present,  he 
began  by  knocking  away  some  very  thin  little  pieces  of  lath, 
which  appeared  to  be  no  part  of  the  machinery,  but  to  go  from 
the  frame  of  the  machine  to  the  wall  of  the  room,  merely  to 
keep  the  corner  posts  of  the  machine  steady. 

"It  was  found  that  a  catgut  string  was  led  through  one  of 
these  laths  and  the  frame  of  the  machine,  to  the  head  of  the 
upright  shaft  of  a  principal  wheel:  that  the  catgut  was  con- 
ducted through  the  wall,  and  along  the  floors  of  the  second 
story  to  a  back  cock-loft,  at  a  distance  of  a  number  of  yards 
from  the  room  which  contained  the  machine,  and  there  was 
found  the  moving  power.  This  was  a  poor  old  wretch  with 


ROBERT  FULTON 
1765-  1815 
BY  HIMSELF 

Prom  the  Lucy  Wharton  Drexel  collection 


MARRIAGE  AND  DEATH  283 

an  immense  beard,  and  all  the  appearance  of  having  suffered 
a  long  imprisonment;  who,  when  they  broke  in  upon  him, 
was  unconscious  of  what  had  happened  below,  and  who,  while 
he  was  seated  on  a  stool,  gnawing  a  crust,  was  with  one  hand 
turning  a  crank. 

"The  proprietor  of  the  perpetual  motion  soon  disappeared. 
The  mob  demolished  his  machine,  the  destruction  of  which 
immediately  put  a  stop  to  that  which  had  been,  for  so  long  a 
time,  and  to  so  much  profit,  exhibited  in  Philadelphia." 

In  the  year  1806,  Mr.  Fulton  married  Miss  Harriet  Living- 
ston, daughter  of  Walter  Livingston,  Esq.  One  son  and  three 
daughters  were  the  fruit  of  his  marriage.  In  1815,  Mr.  Fulton 
was  examined  as  a  witness  in  a  steamboat  cause,  at  Trenton. 

"When  he  was  crossing  the  Hudson  to  return  to  his  house 
and  family,  the  river  was  very  full  of  ice,  which  occasioned  his 
being  several  hours  on  the  water  in  a  very  severe  day.  Mr. 
Fulton  had  not  a  constitution  to  encounter  such  exposure,  and 
upon  his  return  he  found  himself  much  indisposed  from  the 
effects  of  it.  He  had  at  that  time  great  anxiety  about  the 
steam  frigate,  and,  after  confining  himself  for  a  few  days,  when 
he  was  convalescent,  he  went  to  give  his  superintendence  to 
the  artificers  employed  about  her:  he  forgot  his  debilitated 
state  of  health  in  the  interest  he  took  in  what  was  doing  on 
the  frigate,  and  was  a  long  time,  in  a  bad  day,  exposed  to  the 
weather  on  her  decks.  He  soon  found  the  effects  of  this  im- 
prudence. His  indisposition  returned  upon  him  with  such  vio- 
lence as  to  confine  him  to  his  bed.  His  disorder  increased, 
and  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  February,  eighteen  hundred 
and  fifteen,  terminated  his  valuable  life. 

"It  was  not  known  that  Mr.  Fulton's  illness  was  dangerous, 
till  a  very  short  time  before  his  death,  which  was  unexpected 
by  his  friends,  and  still  more  so  by  the  community.  As  soon 
as  it  was  known,  all  means  were  taken  to  testify,  publicly,  the 
universal  regret  at  his  loss,  and  respect  for  his  memory.  The 
newspapers  that  announced  the  event,  had  those  marks  of 
mourning,  which  are  usual  in  our  country  when  they  notice  the 
death  of  public  characters.  The  corporation  of  our  city,  the 


284  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

different  literary  institutions,  and  other  societies,  assembled, 
and  passed  resolutions  expressing  their  estimation  of  his  worth, 
and  regret  at  his  loss.  They  also  determined  to  attend  his 
funeral,  and  that  the  members  should  wear  badges  of  mourning 
for  a  certain  time. 

"As  soon  as  the  legislature,  which  was  then  in  session  at 
Albany,  heard  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Fulton,  they  expressed  then- 
participation  in  the  general  sentiment,  by  resolving  that  the 
members  of  both  houses  should  wear  mourning  for  some 
weeks. 

"This  is  the  only  instance,  we  believe,  of  such  public  testi- 
monials of  regret,  esteem,  and  respect,  being  offered  on  the 
death  of  a  private  citizen,  who  never  held  any  office,  and  was 
only  distinguished  by  his  virtues,  his  genius,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  his  talents. 

"He  was  buried  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  February,  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifteen.  His  corpse  was  attended  from  his  last 
residence  (No.  1  State  Street),  by  all  the  officers  of  the  national 
and  State  governments,  then  in  the  city,  by  the  magistracy, 
the  common  council,  a  number  of  societies,  and  a  greater  num- 
ber of  citizens  than  have  been  collected  on  any  similar  occasion. 
From  the  time  the  procession  began  to  move,  till  it  arrived  at 
Trinity  Church,  minute  guns  were  fired  from  the  steam  frigate 
and  the  West  Battery.  His  body,  in  a  leaden  coffin,  covered 
with  plain  mahogany,  on  which  is  a  metal  plate  engraved  with 
his  name  and  age,  is  deposited  in  a  vault  belonging  to  the 
Livingston  family." 

As  a  painter  Mr.  Fulton  does  not  rank  high.  Probably  his 
best  picture  is  the  portrait  of  his  friend  Barlow.  We  owe  to 
him  the  splendid  edition  of  Barlow's  "  Columbiad."  Mr. 
Golden  says: 

"The  elegant  plates  which  adorn  that  work  were  executed 
under  the  superintendence  and  advice  of  Mr.  Fulton.  He  paid 
about  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  paintings,  the  plates  and 
letter  press;  which  gave  him  a  property  in  the  publication. 
He  relinquished,  by  his  will,  all  his  right  to  the  widow  of  Mr. 
Barlow,  with  the  reservation  of  fifty  of  the  proof  and  embel- 


BARLOW'S  "COLUMBIAD"  285 

lished  copies  of  the  work.  It  was  printed  in  Philadelphia,  in 
quarto,  and  published  in  eighteen  hundred  and  seven;  it  is 
dedicated  by  Mr.  Barlow  to  Mr.  Fulton,  in  such  terms  as  evince 
the  strong  attachment  which  subsisted  between  these  men  of 
genius.  The  original  paintings,  from  which  the  prints  of  the 
'  Columbiad '  were  engraved,  form  a  part  of  the  handsome 
collection  which  Mr.  Fulton  has  left  to  his  family." 

We  owe  to  him  the  introduction  into  this  country  of  the  pic- 
tures painted  by  his  friend  and  master  West,  from  Lear  and 
Hamlet,  for  Boydell's  Shakspeare.  The  Lear  cost  him  two 
hundred  and  five  guineas,  and  the  Ophelia  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  at  Boydell's  sale.  At  the  same  time  he  purchased 
a  fine  picture  by  Raphael  West,  from  "As  you  like  it."  We 
have  copied  from  Mr.  Colden's  book  the  prices  at  which  he 
says  Fulton  purchased  the  Lear  and  the  Ophelia,  but  instead 
of  the  sale  of  the  pictures  of  the  Royal  Academy,  we  substitute 
Boydell's  sale,  for  the  Royal  Academy  never  had  a  sale  of 
pictures.  West's  pictures  were  painted  for  Boydell,  and  his 
great  project  failing,  the  government  allowed  his  pictures  to 
be  disposed  of  by  a  lottery.  Whether  Fulton  was  an  adventurer 
in  this  lottery,  or  purchased  of  the  owner  of  a  prize,  we  know 
not.  That  he  did  not  purchase  of  the  Royal  Academy  is 
certain,  or  at  any  sale  of  their  pictures.  My  impression  is  that 
he  was  an  adventurer  in  the  lottery,  and  gained  these  paint- 
ings as  a  prize.  The  inaccuracy  of  one  part  of  Mr.  Colden's 
statement  renders  further  inaccuracy  probable. 

He  endeavored  to  persuade  his  countrymen  to  purchase 
such  pictures  of  West's  as  were  at  the  artist's  disposal,  and  he 
wrote  to  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  thus : 

"I  now  have  the  pleasure  to  offer  you  a  catalogue  of  the 
select  works  of  Mr.  West,  and  with  it  to  present  you  the  most 
extraordinary  opportunity  that  ever  was  offered  to  the  lovers 
of  science.  The  catalogue  referred  to  is  a  list  of  all  Mr.  West's 
productions,  portraits  excepted.  No  city  ever  had  such  a 
collection  of  admired  works  from  the  pencil  of  one  man;  and 
that  man  is  your  fellow  citizen.  The  price  set  on  the  collec- 
tion is  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling;  a  sum  inconsiderable 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

when  compared  with  the  objects  in  view,  and  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  it." 

Mr.  Fulton  was  six  feet  in  height,  slender  in  his  form,  easy 
and  graceful  in  his  deportment.  His  countenance  was  ani- 
mated, and  his  eyes  and  forehead  betokened  genius  and  un- 
conquerable ardor.  He  was  a  kind  father,  a  fast  friend,  an 
enlightened  philosopher,  and  a  good  republican.  The  arts  of 
America  are  indebted  to  him  much  —  but  the  science  and 
happiness  of  the  world  more. 

THOMAS  CoRAM1 

Of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  assisted  the  progress  of  the 
fine  arts,  and  claims  a  place  here.  We  find  this  gentleman 
mentioned  by  Ramsay,  as  having  exceeded  "what  could  have 
been  expected  from  his  slender  opportunity  of  improvement." 

He  presented  to  the  Orphan  Asylum  a  picture  after  a  design 
of  Mr.  West,  from  the  passage,  "Suffer  little  children,"  etc. 
From  Mr.  Fraser,  our  very  valuable  correspondent,  we  learn, 
that  Thomas  Coram  was  a  native  of  Bristol,  England;  and 
nearly  related  to  the  philanthropist  of  the  name,  to  whose 
benevolent  exertions  the  Foundling  Hospital,  in  London,  is 
indebted  for  its  existence. 

Thomas,  the  subject  of  our  notice,  was  born  in  1756,  and 
was  brought  to  America  when  six  years  of  age.  His  early 
pursuits  were  mercantile;  but  from  these  he  was  alienated  by 
the  attractions  of  the  pencil  and  graver,  to  which,  while  yet  a 
young  man,  he  devoted  himself  exclusively.  Mr.  Coram  must 
have  been  among  the  earliest  who  attempted  engraving  in  this 
country. 

"He  was,"  says  Mr.  Fraser,  "truly  a  self-taught  artist; 
seeking  information  from  books,  practice,  and  the  conversa- 

1  Thomas  Coram  came  from  Bristol,  England,  where  he  was  born,  to  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  March  1,  1769.  (Dunlap  is  in  error  in  giving  his  age  at  six  years  if  he  is  correct 
in  placing  1756  as  the  date  of  birth  unless  Coram  first  landed  in  America  at  some  place 
other  than  Charleston,  S.  C.)  He  also  is  in  error  in  giving  date  of  death  as  May  2, 
1810,  as  Coram's  will  is  dated  March  20,  1811.  Coram  engraved  the  plates  for  the 
currency  of  South  Carolina  in  1779. 


AN  EXEMPLARY  MAN  287 

tion  of  artists  who  occasionally  visited  Charleston;  but  from 
Mr.  Benbridge  his  instruction  was  chiefly  derived." 

The  phrase  "self-taught"  must  mean,  as  far  as  taught  previ- 
ous to  Mr.  Benbridge's  instructions;  and  even  before  that, 
it  must  be  received  with  qualifications.  "His  industry,"  says 
Mr.  Fraser,  "which  was  extraordinary,  was  the  more  laudable 
as  it  was  not  prompted  by  encouragement  or  competition, 
but  proceeded  from  an  ardent  devotion  to  the  art."  Sincerely 
attached  to  the  interests  of  his  adopted  country,  he  volunteered 
to  take  arms  in  their  support,  and  served  as  a  private  soldier. 

His  drawings  are  characterized,  by  Mr.  Fraser,  as  possessing 
"neatness  and  correctness;  and  in  his  oil  paintings  there  was  a 
harmony  of  coloring  and  felicity  of  execution  rarely  surpassed 
by  those  who  have  had  more  extensive  opportunities  of  study 
and  observation.  His  reading  embraced  almost  every  subject 
connected  with  his  favorite  art:  he  delighted  in  the  history 
of  it,  and  the  biography  of  eminent  painters;  and  of  both  it 
was  his  habit  to  collect  and  transcribe  such  anecdotes  and 
passages  as  were  striking  and  useful." 

He  was  a  benevolent  man,  and  died,  regretted,  at  Charleston, 
the  second  of  May,  1810,  aged  54. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

WILLIAM  DUNLAP. 

I  WAS  born  in  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy  and  province  of 
New  Jersey.  My  father,  Samuel  Dunlap,  was  a  native  of  the 
north  of  Ireland,  and  son  of  a  merchant  of  Londonderry.  In 
early  youth  he  was  devoted  to  the  army,  and  bore  the  colors 
of  the  47th  Regiment,  "Wolfe's  own,"  on  the  Plain  of  Abra- 
ham. He  was  borne  wounded  from  the  field  on  which  his 
commander  triumphed  and  died.  After  the  French  War, 
Samuel  Dunlap,  then  a  lieutenant  in  the  47th  Regiment,  and 
stationed  at  Perth  Amboy,  married  Margaret  Sargent  of  that 
place,  and  retired  from  the  profession  of  a  soldier,  to  the  quiet 
of  a  country  town  and  country  store.  The  19th  of  February, 
1766,  is  registered  as  the  date  of  my  birth,  and  being  an  only 
child,  the  anniversary  of  the  important  day  was  duly  cele- 
brated by  my  indulgent  parents.  Education  I  had  none,  ac- 
cording to  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  word,  owing  to 
circumstances  to  be  mentioned;  and  much  of  what  is  to  the 
child  most  essential  education,  was  essentially  bad.  Holding 
negroes  in  slavery  was  in  those  days  the  common  practice,  and 
the  voices  of  those  who  protested  against  the  evil  were  not 
heard.  Every  house  in  my  native  place  where  any  servants 
were  to  be  seen,  swarmed  with  black  slaves  —  every  house  save 
one,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned.  My  father's  kitchen  had 
several  families  of  them  of  all  ages,  and  all  born  in  the  family 
of  my  mother  except  one,  who  was  called  a  new  negro,  and  had 
his  face  tattooed  —  his  language  was  scarcely  intelligible 
though  he  had  been  long  in  the  country,  and  was  an  old  man. 
These  blacks  indulged  me  of  course,  and  I  sought  the  kitchen 
as  the  place  where  I  found  playmates  (being  an  only  child), 

288 


WILLIAM  DUNLAP 
1766-1839 

From  a  lithograph 


EARLY  ASSOCIATION  WITH  SLAVES  289 

and  the  place  where  I  found  amusement  suited  to,  and  forming 
my  taste,  in  the  mirth  and  games  of  the  negroes,  and  the  variety 
of  visitors  of  the  black  race  who  frequented  the  place.  This  may 
be  considered  as  my  first  school.  Such  is  the  school  of  many  a 
one  even  now,  in  those  States  where  the  evil  of  slavery  con- 
tinues. The  infant  is  taught  to  tyrannize  —  the  boy  is  taught 
to  despise  labor  —  the  mind  of  the  child  is  contaminated  by 
hearing  and  seeing  that  which  perhaps  is  not  understood  at 
the  time,  but  remains  with  the  memory.  This  medley  of 
kitchen  associates  was  increased  during  a  part  of  the  War  of 
our  Revolution  by  soldiers,  who  found  their  mess  fare  improved 
by  visiting  the  negroes,  and  by  servants  of  officers  billeted  on 
the  house. 

Happily  from  very  early  infancy  I  had  another  school  and 
another  teacher,  as  also  the  usual  instructions  of  a  good 
mother.  I  owe  my  love  of  pictures  and  of  books  to  one  on 
whose  memory  and  character  I  must  dwell,  and  of  whose 
house  and  household  I  must  give  a  description,  for  they  made 
a  part  of  him,  and  are  intimately  connected  with  me. 

Perth  Amboy  is  regularly  laid  out  in  squares,  and  in  the 
centre  square  of  the  city,  the  metropolis  of  the  province,  stood 
the  market  house  of  brick,  shaded  on  all  sides  by  locust  trees, 
the  centre  of  a  square  through  which  pass  Market  and  High 
Streets.  On  the  corner  of  Market  Street  stood  the  house  of 
Thomas  Bartow,  almost  surrounded  by  the  fruit  trees  of  his 
garden.  He  was  a  small,  thin  old  man,  with  straight  gray 
hair  hanging  in  comely  guise  on  each  side  of  his  pale  face. 
His  appearance  was  truly  venerable.  He  was  feeble  from  age 
and  lame  from  rheumatism.  His  countenance,  ever  mild,  was 
towards  me  kind  and  cheerful.  Whether  with  his  books  by 
the  blazing  hickory  fire  of  winter,  or  in  his  garden  amidst  vines 
and  fruit  trees  in  summer,  I  was  always  welcome.  Over  the 
snows  I  accompanied  him  in  his  one-horse  sleigh;  and  in  the 
more  genial  seasons  old  sorrel  dragged  us  over  the  same  roads 
through  the  adjoining  villages  of  Woodbridge  and  Rahway. 
It  must  have  been  the  delight  he  took  in  watching  the  growth 
of  the  mental  faculties,  which  caused  this  benevolent  old  man 


290  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

to  devote  so  much  attention  to  a  child,  and  doubtless,  he  felt 
gratified  by  the  attachment  of  the  child,  and  the  preference 
given  to  his  company,  his  books,  and  his  tuition  over  the  en- 
ticing gambols  of  those  who  from  age  might  be  supposed,  and 
frequently  were,  more  congenial  associates.  It  is  not  irrelevant 
to  dwell  upon  my  visits  to  this  good  old  gentleman.  The 
happy  hours  passed  with  him  in  his  garden,  or  in  walking  with 
him,  or  in  our  rides  might  be  omitted,  but  when  I  found  him 
on  that  Sunday  morning  when  the  parson,  a  regimental  chap- 
lain, who  was  engaged  to  bestow  his  spare  time  on  the  Episco- 
palians at  Woodbridge  and  Amboy,  was  absent  from  the  latter 
place,  when  I  was  received  and  placed  by  the  side  of  the  old 
gentleman  at  the  stand  or  table  where  he  sat  with  his  books, 
when,  after  going  upstairs  to  the  book  closet  and  bringing 
down  such  volumes  as  struck  my  fancy,  I  received  his  explana- 
tions of  the  pictures  or  the  pages;  if  these  visits  were  passed 
over  I  should  omit  the  record  of  the  happiest  moments  of 
childhood,  and  of  hours  which  expanded  my  intellect,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  my  love  for  books  and  pictures. 

Patiently  he  turned  over  the  pages  of  Homer  and  Virgil  in 
the  translations  of  Pope  and  Dryden,  and  of  Milton's  poems, 
and  explained  the  pictures,  until  I  was  familiar  with  the  stories 
of  Troy  and  Latium  —  of  heaven  and  of  hell,  as  poets  tell 
them.  Nor  was  history  strange  to  me,  especially  that  of  Rome. 
Thus  was  commenced  a  love  of  reading  which  has  been  my 
blessing.  My  friend's  library  was  small,  but,  as  I  now  know, 
well  chosen.  Besides  the  books  I  have  mentioned,  and  many 
others,  it  contained  the  Universal  History,  condemned  by 
Warburton  and  praised  by  Gibbon. 

I  should  not  do  justice  to  my  early  friend  if  I  did  not  notice 
peculiarities  in  his  conduct  and  household,  probably  little 
thought  of  by  me  at  the  time,  but  making  their  due  impression. 
His  was  the  only  house  where  slavery  did  not  exist.  His  ser- 
vants alone  in  the  place  were  white.  An  elderly  woman  and 
a  sturdy  youth  composed  the  establishment.  The  first  kept 
all  within  as  neat  as  herself,  the  second  was  gardener,  hostler 
and  general  out-door  minister  —  and  he  sawed  wood  for  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION          291 

fires  —  at  every  other  house  the  axe  was  used  for  cutting.  I 
never  remember  to  have  seen  the  old  gentleman  within  any 
house  but  his  own,  nor  had  he  visitors  except  on  business,  for 
he  was  an  agent  for  the  lands  of  the  original  proprietors  of 
the  province.  He  read  the  Bible,  but  he  never  went  to  church. 

That  event  by  which  I,  in  common  with  the  world,  have 
gained  so  much,  the  rebellion  of  1775,  was  the  cause  of  my 
losing  this  my  earliest  companion  and  friend.  He  retired  to 
Bethlehem,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  there  died  about  five  years 
after.  I  followed  him  towards  the  Raritan  on  which  he  was 
to  embark,  and  lingered  until  he  desired  me  to  return  home. 
I  was  then  nine  years  of  age,  and  my  friend  perhaps  seventy. 
For  years  I  saw  him  vividly  in  my  dreams,  and  awoke,  like 
Caliban,  with  the  disposition  to  weep  for  a  renewal  of  my 
dreams.  Mr.  Bartow  retired  from  the  approach  of  scenes  in 
which  age  prohibited  his  becoming  an  actor. 

Among  the  earliest  pictures  that  I  remember  were  some  on 
oilcloth,  without  frames,  representing  huntsmen,  horses  and 
dogs.  They  made  a  deep  impression  on  me,  and  I  recollect 
them  still  with  pleasure.  This  must  have  been  in  1772,  or 
earlier;  and  when  I  saw  Heard's  hounds  from  Woodbridge 
enter  Amboy,  surrounding  the  black  huntsman  with  his  scarlet 
coat,  black  jockey  cap  and  gold  tassel,  broad  leather  belt  and 
hunting  horn,  he  appeared  to  me  a  most  dignified  and  venerable 
personage. 

The  records  of  the  time  will  show  the  date,  probably  1774,. 
at  which  the  47th  regiment  was  removed  from  Perth  Amboy 
to  New  York  and  thence  to  Boston,  to  be  cut  up  by  Prescott 
and  the  Yankees  at  Bunker's  Hill.  It  was  after  that  removal 
that  my  father  took  me  with  him  in  the  small  packet  sloop, 
which  was  the  mode  of  communication,  on  the  summer  day's 
voyage  to  New  York.  The  first  visit  to  the  great  city  was  of 
course  all  wonder  to  me.  I  remember  that  preparations  for 
hostilities  were  making.  Horsemen's  helmets,  swords  and 
belts,  with  other  equipments,  were  displayed  at  the  shop  doors 
and  windows.  In  a  walk  taken  with  my  father  out  of  town,  on 
the  new  road,  he  was  attracted  by  preparations  for  supplying 


292  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  city  with  water  from  the  Collect  or  fresh-water  pond  (a 
project  of  good  old  Christopher  Collis);  and  entering  among 
some  mounds  of  earth  on  the  east  of  the  road,  and  where  Frank- 
lin Street  now  is,  we  saw  a  company  of  gentlemen  practising, 
with  an  instructor,  the  small-sword  salute. 

I  learned  my  letters  of  the  schoolmistress  —  was  then  turned 
over  to  Master  M'Norton  and  learned  to  spell,  perhaps  read  — 
commenced  more  regular  instruction  with  an  English  gentle- 
man; read  "  Anson's  Voyage,"  and  had  the  mysteries  of  gram- 
mar put  in  my  hand;  but  they  went  no  further.  The  British 
troops  appeared  on  Staten  Island,  opposite  Amboy — the  militia 
of  the  villages  poured  into  the  place  half  armed  and  unarmed 
—  Doctor  Franklin  and  others  met  the  English  commissioners 
at  Billop's  house  on  Staten  Island  —  my  father  removed  his 
family  to  Piscatawa,  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  and  from 
1775  to  1777,  when  he  removed  to  New  York,  I  heard  not  the 
word  school.  The  summer  of  1776  was  passed  at  Piscatawa, 
in  a  retired  spot,  about  a  mile  from  the  village  and  post  road. 
The  lessons  of  my  friend  Bartow  were  now  useful  to  me;  I  read 
Pope's  Homer,  which  I  found  in  my  father's  house,  and  other 
books  I  borrowed  from  a  gentleman  who  resided  two  miles  up 
the  river.  I  read  Shakespeare,  certainly  without  understand- 
ing all  I  read.  My  father  gave  me  lessons  in  writing  and  arith- 
metic, but  my  time  was  principally  occupied  in  swimming  and 
fishing  in  the  creeks  of  the  Raritan,  rambling  the  fields  and 
woods  —  sailing  boats  on  a  millpond  —  visiting  the  miller  — 
and  in  short  in  the  delights  of  liberty  and  idleness  —  no,  not 
idleness,  for  this  was  as  busy  a  summer  as  I  remember.  The 
Declaration  of  Independence  caused  a  sensation  which  I 
distinctly  remember,  but  my  sports  and  rambles  had  more 
interest  for  me. 

The  English  troops  marched  through  Piscatawa  without 
opposition,  and  plundered  the  houses.  I  witnessed  this  scene. 
The  men  of  the  village  had  retired  on  the  approach  of  the 
enemy.  Some  women  and  children  were  left.  I  heard  their 
lamentations  as  the  soldiers  carried  off  their  furniture,  scattered 
the  feathers  of  beds  to  the  winds,  and  piled  up  looking-glasses, 


THE  BRITISH  ARMY  293 

with  frying-pans  in  the  same  heap,  by  the  roadside.  The 
soldier  would  place  a  female  camp  follower  as  a  guard  upon 
the  spoil,  while  he  returned  to  add  to  the  treasure.  Perth 
Amboy  being  now  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  my  father 
returned  with  his  family  to  his  house,  and  I  saw  hi  my  native 
town,  particularly  after  the  affairs  of  Princeton  and  Trenton, 
all  the  varieties  and  abominations  of  a  crowded  camp  and 
garrison.  An  army  who  had  so  recently  passed  in  triumph 
from  the  sea  to  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  and  chosen  their 
winter  quarters  at  their  pleasure,  were  now  driven  in  and 
crowded  upon  a  point  of  land  washed  by  the  Atlantic,  and 
defended  by  the  guns  of  the  ships  which  had  borne  them  to  the 
shore  as  the  chastisers  of  rebellion. 

I  have  elsewhere  compared  the  scenes  I  now  witnessed  to 
the  dramatic  scenes  of  Wpllenstein's  "  Lager."  Here  were  cen- 
tered in  addition  to  those  cantoned  at  the  place,  all  those 
drawn  in  from  the  "Delaware,"  "Princeton"  and  "Brunswick"; 
and  the  flower  and  pick  of  the  army,  English,  Scotch  and  Ger- 
man, who  had  at  this  time  been  brought  in  from  Rhode  Island. 
Here  was  to  be  seen  a  party  of  the  42d  Highlanders,  in  national 
costume,  and  there  a  regiment  of  Hessians,  their  dress  and 
arms  a  perfect  contrast  to  the  first.  The  slaves  of  Anspach 
and  Waldeck  were  there  —  the  first  sombre  as  night,  the 
second  gaudy  as  noon.  Here  dashed  by  a  party  of  the  17th 
Dragoons,  and  there  scampered  a  party  of  Yagers.  The  trim, 
neat  and  graceful  English  grenadier,  the  careless  and  half 
savage  Highlander,  with  his  flowing  robes  and  naked  knees, 
and  the  immovably  stiff  German,  could  hardly  be  taken  for 
parts  of  one  army.  Here  might  be  seen  soldiers  driving  in 
cattle,  and  others  guarding  wagons  loaded  with  household 
furniture,  instead  of  the  hay  and  oats  they  had  been  sent  for. 

The  landing  of  the  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  from  the 
ships  which  transported  the  troops  from  Rhode  Island;  their 
proud  march  into  the  hostile  neighborhood,  to  gather  the 
produce  of  the  farmer  for  the  garrison;  the  sound  of  the  mus- 
ketry, which  soon  rolled  back  upon  us;  the  return  of  the 
disabled  veterans,  who  could  retrace  their  steps;  and  the 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

heavy  march  of  the  discomfited  troops,  with  their  wagons  of 
groaning  wounded,  in  the  evening,  are  all  impressed  on  my 
mind  as  pictures  of  the  evils  and  the  soul-stirring  scenes  of 
war. 

These  lessons,  and  others  more  disgusting  —  the  flogging 
of  English  heroes,  and  thumping  and  caning  of  German; 
the  brutal  licentiousness,  which  even  my  tender  years  could 
not  avoid  seeing  in  all  around,  and  the  increased  disorders 
among  my  father's  negroes,  from  mingling  with  the  servants 
of  officers,  —  were  my  sources  of  instruction  in  the  winter  of 
1776-7.  In  the  spring  of  1777  my  father  removed  to  New 
York.  Perhaps  it  was  at  this  time  of  removal  that  many 
things  which  I  should  now  highly  value  were  lost.  It  is  to  me 
incomprehensible,  that  books  and  other  articles,  which  are 
remembered  as  being  in  existence  at  a  distant  time,  vanish, 
and  leave  no  trace  behind  them.  I  used  to  play  with  my  father's 
sword,  gorget  and  sash;  when  they  disappeared,  I  know  not. 
Of  books,  I  remember  a  work  from  the  French,  called  "La 
Belle  Assemblee,"  "Bartram  Montfichet,"  an  imitation  of 
Tristram  Shandy,  the  "Fortunate  Country  Maid,"  the  "Fool 
of  Quality,"  a  great  favorite;  the  two  spirits,  one  good  and 
one  evil,  united  hi  the  same  body,  made  a  lasting  impression 
on  me;  and  although  I  know  the  idea  is  not  original  with 
Brooke,  I  cannot  but  admire  him  for  the  use  he  made  of  it;  — 
"Sir  Launcelot  Greaves,"  a  "Life  of  Swift,"  and  others;  but  I 
most  regret  a  small  volume,  in  a  black  leather  cover,  and 
printed  in  old  English  characters,  giving  an  account  of  the 
sufferings  of  Elizabeth  under  the  tyranny  of  her  sister  Mary. 
These  and  many  more  would  give  me  delight  to  see  now. 
Some  very  valuable  books  remain  with  me  to  this  time  —  Pope's 
Homer,  Taylor's  "Life  of  Christ,"  folio  edition,  with  plates, 
which  afterwards  served  for  me  to  copy  in  Indian  ink,  "  Anson's 
Voyage,"  Butler's  "Hudibras,"  with  plates  by  Hogarth,  and  a 
few  others,  in  possession  of  the  family  at  that  time.  But  the 
mystery  is  how  these  things  vanish  from  the  possession  of  an 
orderly  family. 
([In  New  York  I  was  sent  to  Latin  school,  and  Mr.  Leslie 


295 

heard  me  say  the  grammar  by  rote;  but  I  was  removed  from 
him,  I  know  not  why,  and  attended  an  English  school,  where, 
with  a  good  old  Quaker,  I  might  have  acquired  a  common  edu- 
cation, but  another  and  a  final  interruption  to  my  school 
instruction  occurred.  Andrew  Elliot,  Esq.,  at  this  time  resided 
at  his  country  seat,  on  the  New  Road,  in  a  mansion  long  after 
known  as  the  "Sailor's  Snug  Harbor."  It  had  so  happened 
that  at  the  time  my  friend  Bartow  left  Amboy,  Elliot  removed 
his  family  to  that  place,  to  await  the  movements  of  the  British 
army,  and  on  their  taking  possession  of  New  York,  returned 
home  again.  While  at  Amboy,  his  boys  became  my  playmates, 
and  the  intimacy  was  renewed  under  the  banner  of  Great 
Britain.  In  June,  1778,  by  invitation,  I  dined  with  his  large 
family  of  youngsters,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  all  engaged  in 
throwing  chips  of  wood  at  each  other  in  the  wood  yard.  In 
this  sport  my  right  eye  was  cut  longitudinally,  by  a  heavier 
piece  of  firewood  than  was  in  the  general  use  of  the  combatants, 
and,  deprived  of  its  use,  I  was  led  into  the  house,  accompanied 
by  all  my  affrighted  associates.  A  carriage  was  prepared, 
and  I  was  delivered  to  my  distressed  parents.  After  many 
weeks  of  confinement  to  my  bed,  and  more  to  the  house,  I 
slowly  regained  health;  but  never  the  sight  of  the  organ.  By 
degrees  I  recovered  the  full  use  of  the  remaining  eye,  but  the 
accident  prevented  all  further  regular  schooling. 

Books  and  pictures  became  the  companions  of  my  leisure, 
and  I  had  as  much  time  to  bestow  on  them  as  I  pleased.  I 
had  acquired  the  use  of  Indian  ink,  and  became  attached  to 
copying  prints.  I  was  encouraged  by  admiration  —  good  en- 
gravings were  lent  to  me,  and  by  degrees  my  copies  might 
almost  pass  for  the  original  prints.  My  eye  became  satisfied 
with  light  and  shadow,  and  the  excitement  of  color  was  not 
necessary  to  my  pleasure;  indeed,  I  believe  that  either  from 
nature  or  the  above  accident,  I  did  not  possess  a  painter's  eye 
for  color;  but  I  was  now  devoted  to  painting  as  a  profession, 
and  I  did  not  suspect  any  deficiency. 

Seeing  that  I  aspired  to  be  a  painter,  and  talked  of  West 
and  Copley,  and  read  books  on  the  art,  my  father  looked  out 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

for  an  instructor  for  me.  Mr.  Ramage,  the  miniature  painter, 
was  in  reality  the  only  artist  in  New  York,  but  he  was  full  of 
employment  and  declined  teaching. 

A  painter  of  the  name  of  De  Launy  lived  in  Maiden  Lane, 
and  certainly  had  no  inconsiderable  knowledge  of  colors  and 
the  mechanical  part  of  the  art.  He  said  he  had  visited  London 
and  been  instructed  by  Mr.  West,  and  he  showed  a  picture 
copied  from  West,  of  Cupid  stung  by  a  bee,  and  complaining 
to  his  mother:  he  had  in  his  house  a  family  picture  of  himself, 
wife  and  children  —  whether  completed  or  not,  I  do  not 
remember  —  the  heads  were  all  turned  one  way,  and  the 
shadowed  side  relieved  by  dim  spots  of  light  in  the  background ; 
and  yet  my  memory  tells  me  that  the  faces  were  cleverly 
painted.  Mr.  De  Launy 's  occupation,  at  this  time,  was  sign 
painting,  and  his  poverty  did  not  tempt  to  become  a  painter, 
yet  I  believe  that  he  might  have  taught  me  much  of  the  man- 
agement of  oil  colors,  and  by  so  doing  have  materially  altered 
my  course  when  I  went  to  England.  Why  he  was  not  employed 
to  teach  me  I  do  not  know.  His  manners  were  not  prepossess- 
ing, though  mild;  I  can  remember  that  I  had  not  confidence 
in  his  pretension,  at  that  time,  though  since  confirmed. 

The  next  in  degree  was  William  Williams,  he  undertook 
the  task;  I  went  to  his  rooms  in  the  suburbs,  now  Mott  Street, 
and  he  placed  a  drawing  book  before  me,  such  as  I  had  pos- 
sessed for  years:  after  a  few  visits  the  teacher  was  not  to 
be  found.  I  examined  his  portraits  —  tried  his  crayons,  and 
soon  procuring  a  set,  commenced  painting  portraits,  beginning 
with  my  father's.  From  painting  my  relations  I  proceeded  to 
painting  my  young  companions,  and,  having  applications  from 
strangers,  I  fixed  my  price  at  three  guineas  a  head.  I  thus  com- 
menced portrait  painter  in  the  year  1782,  by  no  means  looking 
to  it  for  subsistence,  but  living  as  the  only  and  indulged  child 
of  my  parents,  with  them,  and  doing  as  it  seemed  best  unto 
me.  Thus  passed  life  to  the  age  of  seventeen.  I  was  now  at 
the  period  of  full  animal  enjoyment  —  the  world  was  a  wilder- 
ness of  roses;  still,  although  all  was  delight,  I  longed  for  change. 
Books  did  not  at  that  period  attract  me  as  they  had  done.  I 


MRS.  THOMAS  A.   COOPKU 

(ANN  FAIRLEY) 
BY  WILLIAM  DUXLAP 

From  the  collection  of  The  Cleveland  Museum  of  Art 


A  MEMORABLE  OCCASION  297 

gained  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  French.  I  had  no  check  on 
my  wishes,  but  I  longed  to  leave  home.  Six  years  I  had  been 
shut  up  in  a  garrison  town,  and  that  added  to  the  common 
desire  every  youth  feels  for  roving. 

I  was  released  by  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1783  returned  to  the  place  of  my  nativity  for  a 
few  days.  I  visited  other  portions  of  my  native  State,  now  no 
longer  a  dependent  province.  I  passed  some  time  at  Princeton 
and  Rocky  Hill.  I  mingled  with  the  defenders  of  the  country 
who  had  followed  Washington  at  Trenton  and  Princeton.  I 
visited  Philadelphia  for  the  first  time.  I  saw  and  admired 
Peale's  gallery  of  pictures,  for  then  I  admired  everything. 
After  a  few  days  I  returned  to  Rocky  Hill,  and  soon  after  to 
New  York.  I  was  again  indulged  with  an  excursion  to  Prince- 
ton and  Rocky  Hill,  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  when  both 
places  had  become  of  importance,  the  first  by  the  presence  of 
Congress,  the  second  as  the  headquarters  of  their  general.  I 
was  now  introduced  to  men  and  scenes  which  would  have 
been  interesting  at  any  period  of  life,  but  which  to  a  boy  on 
the  verge  of  manhood,  and  assuming  to  be  man,  one  new  to 
the  world,  and  to  whom  the  world  was  dressed  in  rainbow 
colors,  were  calculated  to  make  impressions,  which,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  half  a  century,  are  like  the  glowing  pictures  of  the 
artificial  camera  obscura,  when  every  object  is  illuminated  by  a 
summer's  sun. 

Congress  had  left  Philadelphia  in  consequence  of  mutinous 
symptoms  in  the  Pennsylvania  troops.  The  triumphant  rulers 
of  the  republic  held  their  sittings  in  Princeton  College,  and 
their  triumphant  general  occupied  the  house  of  Mr.  Berrian, 
at  Rocky  Hill,  a  short  walk  from  the  rustic  mansion  of  Mr. 
John  Van  Home,  whose  guest  I  was. 

Before  I  left  Princeton  for  Rocky  Hill,  I  saw,  for  the  first 
time,  the  man  of  whom  all  men  spoke  —  whom  all  wished  to 
see.  It  was  accidental.  It  was  a  picture.  No  painter  could 
have  grouped  a  company  of  military  horsemen  better,  or 
selected  a  background  better  suited  for  effect.  As  I  walked 
on  the  road  leading  from  Princeton  to  Trenton,  alone,  for  I 


S98  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ever  loved  solitary  rambles,  ascending  a  hill  suddenly  appeared 
a  brilliant  troop  of  cavaliers,  mounting  and  gaining  the  summit 
in  my  front.  The  clear  autumnal  sky  behind  them  equally 
relieved  the  dark  blue  uniforms,  the  buff  facings,  and  glittering 
military  appendages.  All  were  gallantly  mounted  —  all  were 
tall  and  graceful,  but  one  towered  above  the  rest,  and  I  doubted 
not  an  instant  that  I  saw  the  beloved  hero.  I  lifted  my  hat  as 
I  saw  that  his  eye  was  turned  to  me,  and  instantly  every  hat 
was  raised  and  every  eye  was  fixed  on  me.  They  passed  on, 
and  I  turned  and  gazed  as  at  a  passing  vision.  I  had  seen  him. 
Although  all  my  life  used  to  the  "pride,  pomp  and  circum- 
stance of  glorious  war"  —  to  the  gay  and  gallant  Englishman, 
the  tartan'd  Scot,  and  the  embroidered  German  of  every  mili- 
tary grade,  I  still  think  the  old  blue  and  buff  of  Washington 
and  his  aids,  their  cocked  hats  worn  sidelong,  with  the  union 
cockade,  their  whole  equipment  as  seen  at  that  moment,  was 
the  most  martial  of  anything  I  ever  saw. 

A  few  days  after  this  incident  I  took  up  my  abode  at  Mr. 
John  Van  Home's,  by  invitation,  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  headquarters  of  the  commander-in-chief.  He  frequently 
called,  when  returning  from  his  ride,  and  passed  an  hour  with 
Mrs.  Van  Home  and  the  ladies  of  the  family,  or  with  the 
farmer,  if  at  home.  I  was  of  course  introduced  to  him.  I  had 
brought  with  me  materials  for  crayon  painting,  and  com- 
menced the  portraits  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Home;  these  were 
admired  far  beyond  their  merits,  and  shown  to  all  visitors.  I 
had  with  me  a  flute  and  some  music  books.  One  morning  as  I 
copied  notes  and  tried  them,  the  general  and  his  suite  passed 
through  the  hall,  and  I  heard  him  say,  "The  love  of  music 
and  painting  are  frequently  found  united  in  the  same  person." 
The  remark  is  commonplace,  but  it  was  delightful  to  me  at 
the  time. 

The  assertion  that  this  great  man  never  laughed  must  have 
arisen  from  his  habitual,  perhaps  his  natural  reservedness. 
He  had  from  early  youth  been  conversant  with  public  men  and 
employed  in  public  affairs  —  in  affairs  of  life  and  death.  He 
was  not  an  austere  man  either  in  appearance  or  manners,  but 


MIRTH  OF  WASHINGTON  299 

was  unaffectedly  dignified  and  habitually  polite.  But  I  re- 
member, during  my  opportunity  of  observing  his  deportment, 
two  instances  of  unrestrained  laughter.  The  first  and  most 
moderate  was  at  a  bon  mot,  or  anecdote,  from  Judge  Peters, 
then  a  member  of  Congress,  and  dining  with  the  general;  the 
second  was  on  witnessing  a  scene  in  front  of  Mr.  Van  Home's 
house,  which  was,  as  I  recollect  it,  sufficiently  laugh-provoking. 
Mr.  John  Van  Home  was  a  man  of  uncommon  size  and  strength 
and  bulky  withal.  His  hospitable  board  required,  that  day, 
as  it  often  did,  a  roasting  pig  in  addition  to  the  many  other 
substantial  dishes  which  a  succession  of  guests,  civil  and  mili- 
tary, put  in  requisition.  A  black  boy  had  been  ordered  to  catch 
the  young  porker,  and  was  in  full  but  unavailing  chase,  when 
the  master  and  myself  arrived  from  a  walk.  "Pooh!  you 
awkward  cur,"  said  the  good-natured  yeoman,  as  he  directed 
Cato  or  Plato  (for  all  the  slaves  were  heathen  philosophers  in 
those  days)  to  exert  his  limbs  —  but  all  in  vain  —  the  pig  did 
not  choose  to  be  cooked.  "Stand  away,"  said  Van  Home, 
and  throwing  off  his  coat  and  hat  he  undertook  the  chase,  de- 
termined to  run  down  the  pig.  His  guests  and  his  negroes 
stood  laughing  at  his  exertions  and  the  pig's  manifold  escapes. 
Shouts  and  laughter  at  length  proclaimed  the  success  of  the 
chasseur,  and  while  he  held  the  pig  up  in  triumph,  the  big 
drops  coursing  each  other  from  forehead  to  chin,  over  his 
mahogany  face,  glowing  with  the  effect  of  exercise,  amidst 
the  squealing  of  the  victim,  the  stentorian  voice  of  Van  Home 
was  heard,  "I'll  show  ye  how  to  run  down  a  pig!"  and,  as  he 
spoke,  he  looked  up  in  the  face  of  Washington,  who,  with  his 
suite,  had  trotted  their  horses  into  the  courtyard  unheard 
amidst  the  din  of  the  chase  and  the  shouts  of  triumphant  suc- 
cess. The  ludicrous  expression  of  surprise  at  being  so  caught, 
with  his  attempts  to  speak  to  his  heroic  visitor,  while  the  pig 
redoubled  his  efforts  to  escape  by  kicking  and  squeaking, 
produced  as  hearty  a  burst  of  laughter  from  the  dignified 
Washington  as  any  that  shook  the  sides  of  the  most  vulgar 
spectator  of  the  scene. 

But  to  return  to  the  young  painter.    The  portraits  of  Mr. 


300  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  Mrs.  Van  Home  elicited  praise,  and  I  was  delighted  by 
the  approbation  of  General  Washington  —  doubtless  the  mere 
wish  to  encourage  youth.  My  friend  Van  Home  requested 
him  to  sit  to  me  and  he  complied.  This  was  a  triumphant 
moment  for  a  boy  of  seventeen;  and  it  must  be  remembered 
that  Washington  had  not  then  been  "hackneyed  to  the  touches 
of  painter's  pencil"  (see  his  letter  to  Francis  Hopkinson  in 
Pine's  life  in  this  work), —  I  say  a  triumphant  moment,  but 
it  was  one  of  anxiety,  fear  and  trembling. 

My  visits  were  now  frequent  to  headquarters.  The  only 
military  in  the  neighborhood  were  the  general's  suite  and  a 
captain's  guard,  whose  tents  were  on  the  green  before  the 
Berrian  house,  and  the  captain's  marquee  nearly  in  front.  The 
soldiers  were  New  England  yeomen's  sons,  none  older  than 
twenty;  their  commander  was  Captain  Howe,  in  after  times 
long  a  resident  of  New  York.  I  was  astonished  when  the 
simple  Yankee  sentinels,  deceived  by  my  fine  clothes,  saluted 
me  as  I  passed  daily  to  and  fro;  but  Captain  Howe's  praise 
of  my  portrait  of  the  general  appeared  to  me  as  a  thing  of 
course,  though  surely  he  was  as  much  deceived  as  his  soldiers. 
I  was  quite  at  home  in  every  respect  at  headquarters;  to 
breakfast  and  dine  day  after  day  with  the  General  and  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  members  of  Congress,  and  noticed  as  the 
young  painter,  was  delicious.  The  general's  portrait  led  to  the 
sitting  of  the  lady.  I  made  what  were  thought  likenesses,  and 
presented  them  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Home,  taking  copies  for 
myself. 

Mr.  Joseph  Wright,  son  of  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Patience 
Wright,  and  a  pupil  of  Mr.  West's  as  a  painter,  arrived  at  head- 
quarters from  Paris,  bearing  letters  from  Dr.  Franklin,  which 
entitled  him  to  sittings  from  the  General  and  Mrs.  Washington. 
I  thought  at  the  time  these  portraits  were  very  like. 

The  time  for  returning  home  arrived.  I  took  leave  of  my 
friends  at  Rocky  Hill,  and  soon  after  saw  Washington  enter 
New  York  with  two  or  three  regiments,  and  attended  by  the 
citizens  on  horseback  and  on  foot,  who  went  out  to  meet  him 
and  accompany  his  triumphal  entry;  while  the  English  fleet 


DUNLAP'S  FIRST  PORTRAIT  301 

slowly  sailed  from  the  no  longer  hostile  harbor.  This  was 
the  ever  memorable  25th  of  November,  1783.  It  had  now  been 
decided  that  I  should  go  to  London  in  the  spring,  and  the 
winter  was  passed  in  painting  and  in  making  preparations  for 
the  voyage. 

My  first  portrait  in  oil  was  made  for  the  assistance  of  a  sign 
painter,  probably  in  the  year  1782.  De  Launy  had  undertaken 
to  paint  a  head  of  Sir  Samuel  Hood,  one  of  the  lions  of  that 
day,  and  found  himself  puzzled  to  make  a  likeness  that  the 
sailors  would  acknowledge.  In  this  dilemma  the  artist  came  to 
me.  I  took  his  palette,  and  with  a  bold  brush  dashed  in  the 
red  face  and  hair,  long  nose,  and  little  grey  eyes  of  the  naval 
hero.  The  sign  swung  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  jack 
tars.  A  more  inveterate  likeness  did  not  exist  in  Charles  Sur- 
face's collection,  and  yet  I  have  recognized  my  first  oil  portrait, 
somewhat  improved,  in  the  British  portrait  gallery,  under  the 
title  of  Lord  Hood. 

Now,  in  preparation  for  my  departure,  with  a  palette  pre- 
sented to  me  by  a  lady,  and  such  oil  colors  as  my  friend  De  Launy 
could  furnish,  I  painted  my  second  oil  picture,  a  full-length 
figure  of  Washington.  The  canvas  was  prepared  by  myself; 
and  was  suspended  by  cords,  but  without  stretching  frame. 
I  placed  my  hero  on  the  field  of  battle  at  Princeton.  I  did 
not  take  the  liberty  to  throw  off  his  hat,  or  omit  the  black 
and  white  cockade;  but  in  full  uniform,  booted  and  spurred, 
he  stood  most  heroically  alone  —  for  the  figures  in  the  back- 
ground I  had  thrown  to  a  most  convenient  distance.  —  There 
was  General  Mercer,  dying  in  precisely  the  same  attitude  that 
West  had  adopted  for  Wolfe  —  two  authors  may  think  alike 
—  a  few  soldiers,  with  a  great  deal  of  smoke,  completed  the 
picture. 

The  education  which  prepared  me  for  entering  the  laby- 
rinth of  London,  alone  and  unguided,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
ought  to  be  before  the  reader.  The  winter  previous  to  my 
voyage  I  had  attended  an  evening  school  for  French,  and 
gained  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  language:  and,  from 
the  dancing  school  of  William  Hulet,  who,  with  his  sons,  ac- 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

complished  several  generations  of  New  Yorkers,  I  carried  the 
reputation  of  one  learned  in  that  valuable  mystery  —  it  was 
more  than  my  French  master  could  say  for  my  grammar. 

Another  branch  of  my  education  will  throw  further  light 
on  my  fitness  for  self-government  in  London.  I  had  been  in- 
troduced to  the  billiard  tables  of  New  York,  not  as  a  gambler, 
but  an  idler,  and  of  course  profited  by  the  company  I  found  at 
such  places.  During  the  winter  previous  to  my  departure  my 
evenings  were  divided  between  a  billiard  room  on  Crane  Wharf 
and  sleigh  rides  out  of  town,  with  cards  and  dancing. 

The  May  of  1784  arrived,  and  on  the  4th  I  embarked  in 
the  good  ship  "  Betsy,"  Thomas  Watson  commander;  taking 
with  me  my  copy  from  the  print  of  the  youth  rescued  from 
the  shark,  and  my  great  picture  of  Washington  at  Princeton, 
as  my  credentials  to  Benjamin  West,  who  had  consented  to 
receive  me.  I  had,  previously  to  the  shark  picture,  made  a 
copy  of  the  "Death  of  Wolfe,"  in  Indian  ink,  of  the  size  of 
Woolett's  engraving,  which  would  certainly  have  been  the  more 
acceptable  specimen  to  have  carried  to  the  author  of  the 
original;  but  I  had,  in  the  simplicity  of  my  heart,  preferred  the 
copy  from  Copley,  because  I  had  done  it  better. 

To  cross  the  Atlantic  was  not,  in  1784,  as  now,  an  everyday 
business,  and  performed  by  everybody.  Heretofore,  going 
from  America  to  England  was  called  going  home  —  that  time 
had  nearly  passed  away  —  but  I  did  not  feel  that  I  was  going 
to  a  land  of  strangers.  We  entered  the  Thames  about  the 
middle  of  June,  and  anchored  off  Gravesend,  at  which  place  I 
first  touched  European  ground.  At  Tower  Hill,  the  next  day, 
I  entered  London.  Having  procured  London-made  clothes, 
and  sent  forward  my  recommendatory  pictures,  Capt.  Effing- 
ham  Lawrence,  my  father's  friend,  and  an  American,  accom- 
panied me  to  Newman  Street,  and  guided  me  through  a  long 
gallery  hung  with  sketches  and  designs  —  and  then  through 
a  lofty  antechamber,  filled  with  gigantic  paintings,  to  the  inner 
painting  room  of  the  artist ;  where  he  sat  at  work  upon  an  easel 
picture  for  the  Empress  of  Russia.  It  was  the  beautiful  com- 
position of  Lear  and  Cordelia. 


RECEIVED  BY  WEST  303 

The  painter  received  his  friend  Lawrence  cordially.  The 
sea  captain  and  the  artist  were  both  Quakers  by  birth  and  early 
education,  and  both  had  abandoned  the  language,  manners, 
and  costume  of  the  sect;  and  the  powdered  hair,  side  curls, 
and  silk  stockings  of  that  day  gave  no  indications  of  Quakerism. 
After  my  first  introduction,  Mr.  West  led  us  back  to  the  room 
we  had  passed  through,  and  where  my  specimens  were  de- 
posited. He  first  examined  the  drawing  in  Indian  ink.  I 
stood  on  trial,  and  awaited  sentence.  "This  is  very  well."  — 
I  felt  that  all  was  safe.  "But  it  only  indicates  a  talent  for 
engraving."  I  sunk  from  summer  heat  to  freezing  point.  — 
My  friend  seized  the  painting  and  unrolled  it  on  the  floor. 
The  artist  smiled  —  the  thermometer  rose.  "This  shows  some 
talent  for  composition."  He  appeared  pleased;  and  looking 
at  the  distant  figures,  smiled  to  see  an  awkward  imitation  of 
his  own  General  Wolfe,  dressed  in  blue,  to  represent  the  death 
of  General  Mercer;  and  the  Yankees  playing  the  part  of  the 
British  grenadiers,  and  driving  redcoats  before  them.  I  was 
encouraged.  My  friend  was  directed  to  No.  84,  Charlotte 
Street,  Rathbone  Place,  where  rooms  had  been  engaged  for 
me.  Mr.  West  offered  his  casts  for  my  practice  when  I  should 
be  ready  to  draw.  Before  leaving  the  house  of  the  great 
painter,  it  may  be  supposed  that  I  gazed,  with  all  the  wonder 
of  ignorance  and  the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  upon  the  paintings 
then  in  the  rooms,  which  were  many  of  them  for  the  King's 
Chapel,  Windsor.  The  one  most  impressive  was  "Moses  re- 
ceiving the  Law." 

I  was  now  left  master  of  my  own  actions,  and  of  two  rooms 
in  the  house  of  Robert  Davy,  Esq.  I  was  put  in  possession  of 
a  painting  room  on  the  first  floor,  or  second  story,  and  a  fur- 
nished bed-chamber  immediately  over  it:  and  for  these,  and 
for  my  board,  fire,  etc.,  I  was  to  pay  a  guinea  a  week.  — 
After  seeing  the  lions  of  the  Tower,  and  of  other  parts  of  Lon- 
don, I  sat  down  to  draw  in  black  and  white  chalks  from  the 
bust  of  Cicero;  and  having  mastered  that,  in  every  point  of 
view,  I  drew  from  the  Fighting  Gladiator  (so  called),  —  and 
my  drawing  gained  me  permission  to  enter  the  Academy  at 


304  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Somerset  House.  I  know  not  why  —  perhaps,  because  I  was 
too  timid  to  ask  Mr.  West  to  introduce  me,  or  too  bashful 
and  awkward  to  introduce  myself;  but  I  never  made  use  of 
the  permission. 

I  had  an  awe  of  distinguished  men  that  caused  many  weak- 
nesses in  my  conduct;  a  bashfulness  that  required  encouraging, 
at  the  same  time  that  I  was  first  of  the  boldest  among  my  com- 
panions —  but  so  it  was;  I  went  with  my  portfolio,  port-crayon, 
chalks  and  paper,  and  delivered  them  to  the  porter,  made 
some  excuse  for  not  going  in,  and  walked  off;  I  never  entered 
the  school  or  saw  my  portfolio  again. 

This  monomania  (it  was  little  less)  was  encouraged  by  the 
consciousness  of  the  deficiency  of  my  education  and  knowl- 
edge upon  all  subjects. 

The  drawings  above  mentioned,  and  a  few  pictures  in  oil, 
executed  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Davy,  who  taught  me  to 
set  a  palette  as  he  had  been  taught  in  Rome,  were  all  the 
records  that  remained  of  my  exertions  to  become  a  painter, 
which  the  year  1784  produced. 

Wright  Post,  a  youth  of  New  York,  born  on  the  same  day 
with  myself,  had  been  sent  to  study  surgery  with  the  then  cele- 
brated Sheldon.  Post  attended  to  his  studies  assiduously,  but 
found  leisure  to  join  me  in  my  idleness.  With  him  and  other 
young  men,  this  invaluable  portion  of  my  life  was  worse  than 
wasted.  The  next  summer  Mr.  West  and  family  were  at  Wind- 
sor. Mr.  Davy  and  his  family  hi  Devonshire.  And  when  my 
companion,  Post,  was  not  with  me  on  some  party  of  pleasure 
he  supped  with  me  at  Charlotte  Street,  where  I  was  willing 
at  my  own  charge  to  make  up  in  the  evening  for  the  eternal 
mutton  of  my  landlord's  dinner  table. 

At  the  time  I  left  my  portfolio  at  Somerset  House  (a  wet 
autumnal  evening),  I  suffered  from  what  terminated  in  an 
abscess,  and  confined  me  to  my  bed  or  bed-chamber  during  the 
winter.  Post  was  my  physician,  and  passed  much  of  his  time 
in  my  company,  as  did  my  townsman  Andrew  Smyth,  and 
Raphael  West.  Sheldon  at  length  attended  to  me  at  the  request 
of  his  pupil  and  not  too  soon.  Health  at  length  returned,  and 


NEGLECT  OF  STUDIES  305 

in  May  I  attended  the  first  exhibition  I  had  seen  at  Somerset 
House.  Thus  passed  a  year  in  London  —  lost  to  all  improve- 
ment except  what  I  have  above  mentioned,  and  some  desultory 
reading  during  my  illness. 

In  the  summer  of  1785  I  copied  Mr.  West's  picture  of 
"The  Choice  of  Hercules,"  and  painted  a  few  portraits  of  my 
friends.  The  return  of  health  brought  an  overflow  of  animal 
spirits.  The  theatres  —  Vauxhall  —  parties  on  foot  to  Rich- 
mond Hill  and  on  horseback  to  Windsor,  and  every  dissipation 
suggested  by  my  companions  or  myself,  were  eagerly  entered 
into.  I  look  back  with  astonishment  at  the  activity  of  my  idle- 
ness, and  the  thoughtlessness  of  consequences  with  which  I 
acted.  The  number  of  my  companions  increased,  and  the  long 
absence  from  home  of  the  father  of  one  of  them,  afforded  an 
opportunity  to  the  son,  left  master  of  the  house  (which  had 
no  mistress),  to  assemble  us  for  mirth  and  midnight  revelry. 
Raphael  West  came  in  for  his  share  of  this,  and  his  derelictions 
were  probably  scored  up  to  my  account  where  nothing  appeared 
on  the  credit  side. 

Every  source  of  information  was  neglected.  I  thought  only 
of  the  present,  and  that  was  full  of  delight  to  my  empty  mind. 
I  seldom  saw  Mr.  West  except  when  invited  to  dine,  which  was 
generally  when  he  had  Americans  recently  arrived  at  his 
table.  He  saw  no  proofs  of  my  industry,  and  heard  no  good 
reports  from  Mr.  Davy.  I  was  often  with  Raphael,  his  son, 
who  painted  a  very  little  —  played  on  the  fiddle  or  hautboy  a 
great  deal,  and  amused  himself  in  the  room  sometimes  occu- 
pied by  Trumbull,  at  the  commencement  of  the  gallery.  My 
visits  were  of  little  advantage  to  myself,  and  none  to  my  friend 
Rafe.  Ben,  Mr.  West's  second  son,  was  at  school.  Trumbull 
was  awfully  above  me  and  my  companion,  and  I  only  acci- 
dentally met  him;  sometimes  in  the  small  painting  room  above 
noticed,  and  sometimes  in  the  rooms  beyond  the  gallery  or 
Mr.  West's  rooms,  where  I  first  saw  the  beautiful  pictures  of 
the  Battle  of  Bunker's  Hill  and  Death  of  Montgomery.  I 
received  neither  advice  nor  instruction  from  him. 

It  was  probably  during  this  summer  of  1785  that  I  received 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

one  of  the  few  lessons  which  I  put  myself  in  the  way  of  receiv- 
ing from  my  ostensible  master.  I  presume  that  I  carried 
something  for  his  inspection  which  I  had  painted.  I  would 
willingly  think  so;  and  probably  he  found  it  deficient  in  keep- 
ing. My  monomania  prevented  me  from  asking  questions. 
He  was  at  work  in  the  room  where  I  had  first  seen  him,  and 
his  subject  at  this  time  was  a  landscape;  a  scene  in  Windsor 
Forest,  with  the  figures  of  the  king  and  his  suite  on  horseback 
hunting  in  the  distance,  and  a  frightened  sow  and  pigs  near 
the  foreground.  He  elucidated  the  doctrine  of  light  and  shadow 
by  drawing  a  circle  on  an  unoccupied  canvas,  and  touching 
in  the  light  with  white  chalk,  the  shadow  by  black,  and  leaving 
the  cloth  for  the  half -tint  and  reflexes.  He  then  pointed  to  a 
head  in  the  room  to  show  that  this  theory  was  there  in  practice, 
and  turning  to  the  landscape  said,  that  even  the  masses  of 
foliage  on  the  oak  tree  there  represented  were  painted  on  the 
same  principle.  All  this  has  long  been  familiar  to  every  artist, 
and  that  this  lesson  was  thought  necessary  is  perhaps  a  proof 
of  the  little  progress  I  had  made  in  the  rudiments  of  the  art 
I  professed  to  study.  Yet  I  had  a  better  eye  for  form  than  for 
color.  I  was  discouraged  by  finding  that  I  did  not  perceive  the 
beauty  or  the  effect  of  colors  as  others  appeared  to  do.  Whether 
this  was  a  natural  defect,  or  connected  with  the  loss  of  the 
sight  of  an  eye,  I  cannot  determine. 

The  return  of  full  health  to  a  youth  of  nineteen  may  be  said 
to  come  as  a  torrent  of  delight,  without  using  the  language  of 
figures  which  poetry  deals  in.  It  was  in  my  case  absolutely 
intoxicating,  and  brought  with  it  no  particle  of  the  precious 
wisdom  which  experience  might  be  supposed  to  mingle  in  the 
stream.  The  enjoyment  of  the  present  was  never  interrupted 
by  the  remembrance  of  the  past  or  anticipation  of  the  future. 
How  the  blessing  of  health  which  I  every  day  exposed  was 
preserved,  I  know  not  —  certainly  by  no  prudence  on  my 
part. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  contemplation  of  the  solar  system 
and  the  infinite  multitude  of  stars  beyond,  each  of  which  is  the 
centre  of  a  similar  system  having  its  planets  revolving  around 


VALUE  OF  EDUCATION  307 

it,  filled  with  myriads  of  intelligent  beings  —  and  the  whole 
revolving  around  one  centre,  gives  the  clearest  notion  of  God 
that  our  limited  faculties  can  conceive;  the  creator,  upholder, 
director  and  ultimate  perfecter  of  the  whole;  but  perhaps  if  we 
turn  our  observation  within  and  contemplate  the  wonderful 
machine,  man  —  the  adaptation  of  the  parts  to  the  whole  — 
the  connection  of  mind  and  matter  —  the  incomprehensibility 
of  the  spirit  which  we  feel,  yet  cannot  obtain  a  definite  knowl- 
edge of  —  perhaps,  if  we  study  man,  a  mere  atom  in  the  uni- 
verse, we  shall  come  to  the  same  result;  a  knowledge  of  God 
strengthening  the  previously  attained  notions  of  his  infinite 
goodness;  but  certainly  the  contemplation  of  both  must  lead 
to  a  confirmation  of  that  religion  which  teaches  love  to  God 
and  to  our  neighbor.  Yet  how  difficult  has  been  the  attain- 
ment of  this  knowledge  and  how  prone  has  man  been  to  forget 
his  Creator,  or  to  turn  the  religion  of  love  into  the  idolatry  of 
fear. 

Reader,  this  is  not  without  connection  with  the  subject  be- 
fore us.  The  uneducated  youth  is  as  blind  as  the  savage:  he 
sees  in  the  wonders  which  surround  him  no  more  than  the 
idolater  sees  of  God.  So  to  me  the  wonders  of  art  with  which  I 
was  surrounded  communicated  no  instruction,  because  of  the 
lack  of  previous  education.  If  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  their 
perfections,  it  was  only  to  fill  me  with  dismay. 

Many  a  day  was  wasted  in  walking  to  the  New  York  Coffee 
House,  near  the  Royal  Exchange,  under  pretence  of  looking 
for  letters  from  home.  The  mornfng  lounged  away,  I  dined 
at  the  Cock  eating  house,  where  the  master  with  a  white  apron 
waited  upon  me  to  know  if  all  was  satisfactory,  and  then  (the 
business  of  the  day  over),  rolled  away  in  his  coach  to  his 
country  seat.  Dining  and  port  wine  over,  there  was  "no  use 
in  going  home,"  the  theatres  stood  midway;  and  when  the 
play  was  over,  I  might  rest  from  a  lost  day,  and  not  dream  that 
I  had  been  doing  wrong  or  neglecting  right.  Many  a  day  was 
spent  in  pedestrian  expeditions  to  Richmond  Hill,  Hampton 
Court  and  Greenwich;  or  in  rides  to  more  distant  places  around 
the  metropolis.  Sometimes  it  was  an  excuse  that  pictures 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

were  to  be  seen  —  but  I  looked  upon  pictures  without  the 
necessary  knowledge  that  would  have  made  them  instructive. 

Captain  Lawrence  and  Mr.  West,  it  appears,  did  not  feel 
themselves  authorized  to  control  and  advise  me;  and  my  con- 
nection with  these  worthy  men  became  merely  that  of  occa- 
sional visits,  and  frequent  invitations  to  then*  tables.  I 
prevailed  on  Lawrence  to  permit  me  to  paint  a  group  of  his 
beautiful  boys,  but  I  undertook  more  than  I  could  accomplish 
—  it  was  never  finished. 

After  being  two  years  with  Mr.  Davy,  I,  with  the  thought- 
lessness which  characterized  my  actions,  left  Charlotte  Street, 
Rathbone  Place,  without  consulting  Mr.  West,  and  removed  to 
a  furnished  first  floor  in  Broad  Street,  Soho.  Davy  was  not 
backward  in  communicating  my  change  to  West,  and  I  pre- 
sume, in  assigning  motives  unfavorable.  West  recommended 
the  apartment  I  abandoned  to  Fulton.  My  new  establishment 
was  elegant,  and  increased  my  expenses.  I  breakfasted  in  the 
house  and  for  dinner,  made  one  of  a  mess,  principally  half -pay 
officers,  who  had  served  in  America.  This  eating  and  drinking 
club  was  established  at  a  porter  house  in  Oxford  Street.  The 
man's  name  was  Ensworth,  and  by  adding  a  letter,  an  eccentric 
old  gentleman,  who  occasionally  visited  the  place,  designated 
the  house  end's  worth.  He  was  a  humorist,  and  used  some- 
times to  amuse  the  young  men  by  a  pretence  of  telling  their 
fortunes  or  giving  oracular  advice  from  his  interpretation  of 
the  individual's  name.  The  landlord's  name,  he  would  say, 
was  a  warning  to  all  not  to  visit  his  house  or  any  one  similar. 
The  places  where  character,  fortune,  and  worth  must  end. 
"And  what  is  your  name,  sir?"  "Dunlap."  "Very  well,  sir, 
take  warning;  Done  —  cease  —  stop  — forbear  —  that  is  the 
first  part.  Lap  —  a  mode  of  drinking  —  cease  drinking." 
And  thus  more  or  less  happily  he  would  proceed  through  the 
company. 

During  this  period  of  my  life  had  I  any  character?  I  was 
a  favorite  with  my  companions  —  I  was  always  full  of  life  and 
gaiety;  and  moved  by  a  desire  to  please.  I  was  by  them  sup- 
posed to  possess  humor  or  wit.  I  had  some  little  knowledge  of 


A  DINING  CLUB  IN  LONDON  309 

music,  and  could  sing  to  satisfy  my  associates;  but  I  did  noth- 
ing to  satisfy  the  man  who  had  it  in  his  power  to  serve  me. 
My  follies  and  my  faults  were  reported,  and  exaggerated  to 
Mr.  West,  and  as  he  saw  no  appearances  of  the  better  self, 
which  resided  in  me  (for  there  was  a  better  self),  he  left  me  to 
my  fate. 

The  members  of  the  mess  agreed  to  pay  Ensworth  one  shil- 
ling, cash,  for  each  dinner  at  which  they  were  present.  A 
course  of  meat  was  followed  by  a  dessert  of  pudding  or  pies, 
and  each  man  was  allowed  a  pint  of  porter  as  table  drink. 
However,  scarcely  a  day  passed  but  brandy  punch  followed  the 
dessert,  and  sometimes  wine.  Those  who  know  what  the  mess 
room  of  officers  generally  is,  may  suppose  that  the  warning 
of  the  old  man  —  "cease  drinking,"  might  sometimes  be  of 
service. 

At  my  new  establishment  I  painted  several  portraits  and 
composed  some  historical  pieces,  one  of  which  I  will  mention 
(the  only  one  which  attained  something  like  finish),  the  subject 
was  from  Hoole's  Ariosto.  I  had  attempted  to  represent  Ferau 
gazing  with  horror  upon  the  ghost,  who  rises  from  the  water 
with  the  helmet  in  his  right  hand,  and  points  to  it  with  his 
left.  Lieutenant  Spencer,  of  the  Queen's  Rangers  (one  of  our 
mess),  had  been  my  model,  and  stood  for  Ferau,  and  a  very 
fine  figure  he  was;  but  Spencer  had  attempted  to  figure  on  the 
stage,  had  failed,  and  his  attitude  was  strained  —  his  expression 
exaggerated  (as  might  be  expected  from  a  bad  actor),  and  my 
Ferau  partook  of  his  faults  more  than  his  beauty.  The  steel 
armor  of  Ferau  had  received  a  touch  from  my  friend  Raphael 
West.  The  ghost  I  had  studied  from  the  looking-glass.  When 
I  showed  this  picture  to  Mr.  West,  I  unexpectedly  heard  him 
say  to  one  present,  "That  figure  is  very  good,"  and  turning 
towards  him,  was  upon  the  point  of  saying,  "Rafe  helped 
me  with  the  armor,"  when  to  my  surprise  I  found  that  he 
pointed  to  the  ghost,  for  which  I  had  been  my  own  model. 
On  this  same  occasion  I  showed  the  great  painter  a  portrait  I 
had  painted.  It  was  freely  touched,  well  colored,  and  full  of 
expression  —  better  than  anything  I  had  done  by  far.  He  gave 


310  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

it  due  praise,  but  observed,  "You  have  made  the  two  sides  of 
the  figure  alike  —  each  has  the  same  sweeping  swell  —  he  looks 
like  a  rolling  pin."  I  might  have  said  truly  that  it  was  char- 
acteristic —  but  I  took  the  lesson  in  silence,  and  made  no 
defence,  although  I  knew  that  my  subject  was  in  fact  "like  a 
rolling  pin."  Silence,  in  this  instance,  may  have  been  com- 
mendable; but  my  habit  of  silence,  in  presence  of  those  whom 
I  considered  my  superiors,  was  very  detrimental  to  me.  The 
person  who  asks  for  information  gains  it.  The  questioner  may 
be  at  times  irksome,  but  that  is  for  want  of  tact.  He  should 
be  a  judicious  questioner  and  a  good  listener.  I  stood  in  the 
presence  of  the  artist  and  wondered  at  his  skill,  but  I  stood 
silent,  abashed,  hesitating  —  and  withdrew  unenlightened;  — 
discouraged  by  the  consciousness  of  ignorance  and  the  mono- 
maniacal  want  of  courage  to  elicit  the  information  I  eagerly 
desired.  Let  every  student  be  apprised  that  those  who  can 
best  inform  him,  are  most  willing  to  do  so. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY  —  Continued. 

AMONG  the  collections  of  paintings  which  I  have  said  I 
visited  with  little  or  no  improvement,  was  that  at  Burleigh 
House,  near  Stamford,  in  Lincolnshire.  I  had  an  acquaint- 
ance engaged  in  mercantile  business  of  the  name  of  Linton, 
a  man  older  than  myself,  attached  to  me  for  qualities  compati- 
ble with  my  thoughtless  career  (though  himself  a  man  of 
thought)  perhaps  for  inexhaustible  good  spirits,  frankness 
and  unweariable  cheerfulness.  His  father  had  been  a  clergy- 
man of  Stamford,  and  his  widowed  mother,  with  two  sisters, 
resided  there.  He  was  about  to  visit  them  and  proposed  that 
I  should  accompany  him.  It  suited  me  exactly.  Each  with 
a  small  trifle  of  baggage  proceeded  to  the  stagecoach,  and  on 
being  told  that  it  was  full,  mounted  to  the  top  (although  it 
was  to  be  a  night  ride),  and  with  the  guard,  armed  at  all 
points,  for  our  companion  de  voyage,  dashed  off  on  the  road 
for  Scotland.  We  arrived  shortly  after  daylight  at  Stamford, 
and  were  received  with  all  the  warmth  belonging  to  the  Eng- 
lish character  in  that  respectable  class  of  English  society  to 
which  my  friend  belonged  —  he,  as  the  only  son  and  brother, 
and  I,  as  his  friend.  We  soon  saw  the  lions  of  the  place,  and 
I  found  that  I  was  a  lion.  The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  my 
friend  said,  "It  is  already  buzzed  abroad  that  I  have  brought 
down  an  American  with  me,  and  when  we  go  to  church,  the 
people  will  expect  to  see  a  black  or  a  copper-colored  Indian  at 
least;  I  was,  at  that  time,  as  fair  as  West  was  when  Cardinal 
Albani  asked  if  the  young  American  was  as  fair  as  he,  an  old 
olive-colored  Italian,  was.  We  went  to  church,  and  I  presume 
the  good  folks  thought  it  was  an  impudent  attempt  at  imposi- 
tion to  pass  me  off  for  an  American.  How  could  it  be  otherwise 
with  those  who  had  been  taught  by  the  most  sanctioned  jour- 

311 


312  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

nals  of  their  country,  that  "an  American's  first  plaything  is  a 
rattlesnake's  tail?" 

We  staid  a  few  delightful  days  at  Stamford.  I  saw  the 
pictures  at  the  castle  —  Madonnas  and  Bambinos,  and  Magda- 
lens,  and  Crucifixions,  but  I  believe  all  did  not  advance  me 
one  step  in  my  profession. 

My  view  of  the  collection  of  painting  at  Blenheim  House 
was  seen  in  company  of  my  friend  Samuel  Latham  Mitchill, 
who,  having  returned  from  Edinburgh  an  M.D.,  proposed  a 
visit  to  Oxford  and  its  neighborhood.  On  this  occasion  I  took 
with  me  a  blank  book  and  kept  a  journal  which  I  still  possess, 
and  which  is  somewhat  of  a  curiosity.  One  of  the  most  inter- 
esting anecdotes  of  this  pedestrian  tour  I  published  in  a  former 
work,  from  memory,  the  journal  being  at  the  time  lost.  I 
will  give  some  extracts  from  this  manuscript:  — 

"After  securing  a  passage  for  our  trunk  in  the  stage  for 
Friday,  Doctor  Mitchill  and  myself  commenced  our  foot  ex- 
pedition on  Thursday  morning,  November  16th,  1786,  at 
eleven  o'clock;  and  proceeding  on  our  way,  passed  Kensington 
Gravel  Pits,  and  stopped  at  Norcoat  to  refresh  ourselves  with 
a  glass  of  ale."  I  will  remark,  that  we  set  out  in  the  rain,  with 
great  coats  on  and  boots,  and  often  literally  waded  through 
the  mud. 

On  the  17th,  before  breakfast,  we  pursued  our  walk  through 
rain  and  mud,  and  rested  at  Stoken  Church.  The  next  day 
we  had  an  adventure,  which  I  always  considered  remarkable, 
in  the  chapter  of  accidents.  "We  had  not  proceeded  many 
miles,  when  an  aged  man  attracted  our  attention.  He  carried 
nought  but  a  staff:  his  garments  were  wretchedly  tattered:  his 
shoes  worn  out,  and  falling  from  his  feet,  seemed,  like  then* 
owner,  to  have  suffered  much  from  the  ravages  of  time,  but 
more  from  hard  service.  He  did  not  address  us  at  meeting; 
Mitchill,  the  interrogator,  stopped  him.  After  the  usual  salu- 
tation we  began  our  inquiries;  and  he  told  us  that  he  was  a 
soldier,  returning  from  Shropshire  to  London,  for  some  papers 
he  had  lost,  which  entitled  him  to  seven  pounds  a  year,  the 
reward  of  his  faithful  services.  I  asked  him  where  he  had 


A  VETERAN  OF  THE  WARS  315 

served.  —  'In  America  —  under  Wolfe  —  I  saw  him  fall  —  I 
received  this  wound  in  my  cheek  that  day  —  lay  your  finger  in 
it,  sir.'  I  then  felt  interested  in  the  tale  of  this  veteran,  and 
with  earnestness  demanded  what  regiment  he  belonged  to.  — 
'The  forty-seventh,  sir,'  said  he.  'What  officers  do  you 
know  of  that  corps?'  He  mentioned  the  names  of  several  of 
his  old  commanders.  I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  an  officer 
of  the  name  of  Dunlap.  'Mr.  Dunlap,'  said  he,  'certainly 
I  do;  he  was  my  lieutenant  —  to  be  sure  I  remember  him.' 
'And  where  were  you  after  the  French  war?  Were  you  in 
New  Jersey,  at  Perth  Amboy?'  'I  was  not  quartered  at 
Perth  Amboy,  sir,  but  at  Brunswick,  with  that  part  of  the 
regiment.  We  were  removed  to  New  York,  and  then  to  Boston. 
I  was  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  and  I  was  taken  with 
Burgoyne  at  Saratoga.'  While  he  spoke  his  countenance  was 
enlightened,  and  he  seemed  to  feel  himself  again  a  soldier. 
'Suppose  that  I  am  the  son  of  that  Lieut.  Dunlap?'  'Are 
you?'  he  cried.  And  upon  my  assuring  him  that  I  was,  he 
seized  my  hand  with  an  honest  ardor;  and  if  he  could  have 
afforded  a  tear,  I  believe  it  would  have  started.  'And  after 
all  your  toils  —  after  all  your  services  —  how  has  your  country 
provided  for  you?'  'Why,  well,'  said  he,  'seven  pounds  a 
year  are  enough  for  me  in  my  native  village:  but  having  lost 
my  certificates,  I  am  now  without  a  half -penny  to  buy  food 
or  procure  me  lodgings  on  my  way  to  London.  See !'  said  he, 
searching  his  rags, '  see  what  I  have  lived  on  these  two  days!* 
and  he  produced  a  half -eaten,  uncooked  turnip.  *  All  I  have 
eaten  these  two  days  is  half  of  this  turnip.'  As  we  stood 
mute  he  thought  we  doubted  his  word,  and  added,  'May  I  be 
damned  if  I  lie!'  Our  soldiers  swore  terribly  in  Flanders. 

"As  we  were  within  sight  of  a  tavern,  we  turned  him  back 
with  us;  and  I  had  the  pleasure,  while  breakfasting,  to  afford 
a  good  meal  to  my  father's  old  companion  in  arms;  and  on 
parting,  gave  him  wherewithal  to  make  his  journey  comfortable 
to  the  War  Office.  The  old  man  said  he  was  then  sixty-six 
years  of  age:  and  when  he  left  us,  he  took  us  each  by  the 
hand  and  blessed  us.  Turning  to  us,  at  a  few  paces  distance, 


314  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

he  said,  'If  ever  you  see  your  father,  perhaps  he  may  remember 
old  Wainwright.' ' 

Between  the  hours  of  one  and  two  we  gained  sight  of  the 
University  from  Shotover  Hill.  My  journal  is  barren  of  all 
interest  respecting  Oxford:  probably  no  journalizing  tourist 
ever  visited  the  place  more  ignorant  than  the  author. 

On  the  22d  we  walked  to  Blenheim,  and  I  saw  the  Duke 
of  Marlborough's  collection  of  pictures  with  some  pleasure 
and  little  profit.  The  house,  furniture,  park,  etc.,  were  objects 
of  admiration.  We  walked  about  Woodstock,  and  then,  cudgel 
in  hand,  returned  to  the  Angel  Inn,  Oxford.  The  next  day 
we  departed  for  London,  having  sent  our  trunk  on  before  us. 
Though  humble  pedestrians,  we  passed  through  a  lane  of 
expectant  waiters,  chamber  maids,  cooks,  scullions,  etc.,  as 
great  as  if  we  had  been  travellers  with  coach  and  six.  We 
changed  our  route  in  returning,  and  stopped  a  day  and  a  night 
at  Windsor;  and  next  day,  after  early  breakfast,  attended  the 
King's  Chapel  —  saw  the  royal  family  —  and  at  nine,  leaving 
the  Castle,  arrived  hi  Oxford  Street,  London,  at  two  P.M.  and 
dined  with  the  mess  at  four. 

Except  the  journeys  to  Stamford  and  Oxford,  I  saw  nothing 
of  the  interior  of  England.  Parties  of  pleasure  to  Windsor, 
Richmond,  Hampton  Court,  Greenwich,  Woolwich,  either 
on  horseback  or  on  foot,  were  frequent;  and  I  passed  a  few 
delightful  days  at  the  residence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Moore,  where 
the  widow  and  family  of  Mr.  John  Smyth  were  on  a  visit. 
Mrs.  Smyth  was  of  the  family  of  the  rector  of  North  Cray, 
and  both  relatives  to  the  afterwards  celebrated  Sir  John 
Moore.  At  this  delightful  place  I  heard,  for  the  only  time,  the 
notes  of  the  nightingale.  I  painted  and  presented  to  Mrs. 
Smyth  several  portraits,  two  originals  and  two  copies,  of  her 
relatives,  one  from  Opie. 

This  life  of  unprofitable  idleness  was  terminated  by  a  sum- 
mons to  return  home,  brought  by  Captain  Watson,  who  in- 
formed me  that  my  passage  was  paid,  and  he  should  sail  in 
August.  I  made  preparations  for  embarkation;  my  pictures 
(poor  things!)  were  packed,  and  with  prepared  cloths,  colors, 


DUNLAP   RETURNS   TO    AMERICA  315 

etc.,  were  shipped.  Thus  ended  a  residence  in  London  of 
sufficient  length  to  have  made  a  man  of  abilities  feebler  than 
mine  a  painter.  But  my  character  was  at  first  mistaken  —  I 
was  discouraged  and  led  astray,  and  gave  up  the  pursuit  of 
my  profession  for  the  pursuits  which  youth,  health,  and  a  dis- 
position to  please  and  be  pleased,  presented  to  me.  In  August, 
1787,  I  embarked  to  return  home  with  the  same  ship  and 
captain  that  brought  me  all  alive  with  the  best  dispositions  to 
improve  myself,  to  the  metropolis  of  Britain,  in  June,  1784. 

After  a  passage  of  seven  weeks,  we  arrived  in  the  beginning 
of  October.  The  weather  had  permitted  me  to  set  up  my 
easel  in  the  cabin,  and  I  painted  two  portraits  of  our  captain 
during  the  voyage.  When  the  pilot  came  on  board,  I  was 
called  up  from  over  the  bows,  where,  in  jacket  and  trowsers,  I 
was  assisting  a  sailor  to  paint  the  figurehead  of  the  good  ship 
"  Betsy."  I  heard  that  my  parents  were  well,  and  we  were  soon 
cheered  by  the  beauties  of  the  bay  of  New  York,  and  a  view 
of  the  city,  with  old  Fort  George  towering  in  front.  Before 
landing,  we  were  boarded  by  a  boat,  and  I  was  greeted  by  my 
father  and  my  friend  Wright  Post.  I  soon  found  myself  in  my 
mother's  arms,  and  surrounded  by  the  black  faces,  white  teeth, 
and  staring  eyes  of  the  negroes  of  the  family. 

In  due  time,  my  pictures,  canvasses,  colors,  etc.,  were 
landed.  I  was  installed  as  a  portrait  painter  in  my  father's 
house,  and  had  sitters;  but  I  felt  my  own  ignorance,  and  felt 
the  superiority  of  Joseph  Wright,  who  was  my  next-door 
neighbor,  and  painting  with  but  little  success  as  to  emolu- 
ment. By  degrees  my  employers  became  fewer,  my  efforts 
were  unsatisfactory  to  myself.  I  sought  a  refuge  in  literature, 
and  after  a  year  or  two  abandoned  painting,  and  joined  my 
father  in  mercantile  business. 

It  was  on  an  evening  of  this  winter,  that,  sitting  by  the  fire, 
and  conversing  with  an  English  gentleman  on  the  subject  of 
pictures,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  any  idea  of  a  picture  which 
should  represent  all  surrounding  objects  as  they  appear  in 
nature  when  we  turn  and  look  from  a  central  spot?  I  answered, 
"Yes.  It  has  been  familiar  with  me  from  childhood,  though 


316  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  before  spoken  of  it.  Often  when 
standing  on  an  eminence,  and  looking  around  me  on  the  bright 
and  glorious  objects,  here  a  landscape,  there  a  bay  and  shipping 
—  a  city  glittering  in  light  —  all  the  tints  of  a  sky  from  the 
setting  sun  to  the  sober  colors  of  the  opposite  horizon  —  I 
have  imagined  myself  surrounded  by  an  upright  circular  can- 
vas, and  depicting  the  scene  just  as  nature  displayed  it,  and 
I  have  regretted  that  I  could  not  make  the  experiment." 
"That's  ill"  was  his  unintelligible  exclamation.  He  then  told 
me,  as  a  thing  yet  unknown,  that  an  artist  in  Edinburgh  had 
conceived  the  plan,  made  the  drawings,  and  was  executing 
such  a  picture;  that  he  had  helped  him  with  funds,  and  by 
that  means  became  acquainted  with  the  fact.  This  was  the 
first  time  I  ever  heard  of  a  panorama,  a  species  of  picture  then 
unknown  to  the  world. 

It  was  my  good  fortune,  soon  after  my  return,  to  become  a 
member  of  a  literary  society  formed  by  young  men  for  mutual 
instruction  and  improvement.  My  friend  Samuel  L.  Mitchill, 
Noah  Webster  (then  editing  a  magazine  in  New  York),  and 
others  afterwards  known  in  American  literature,  were  mem- 
bers. This  led  to  a  more  regular  course  of  study  than  I  had 
ever  known.  I  sought  assiduously  to  gain  knowledge,  but 
unfortunately  could  not  be  content  without  exposing  my 
ignorance  by  writing  and  publishing.  I  even  planned  an  epic 
poem,  on  the  story  of  Aristomenes,  and  wrote  some  hundred 
verses:  fortunately  this  was  not  published.  I  was  likewise 
drawn  into  some  societies  called  convivial;  and  as  I  had  been 
a  member  of  a  Buck's  lodge  in  London,  so  at  home  I  became  a 
Black  Friar  and  a  Mason;  but  happily  I  was  withdrawn  from 
this  course  by  marriage  with  Elizabeth,  the  youngest  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Woolsey,  deceased,  and  Anne  his  second  wife, 
the  daughter  of  Doctor  Muirson.  Beside  the  inestimable  bless- 
ing of  a  good  wife  through  a  long  and  checkered  life,  I  obtained 
the  advantage  of  connection  with  her  relatives,  her  brothers, 
her  sisters  and  their  husbands  and  friends.  I  derived  much 
advantage  intellectually  from  the  society  of  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Dwight,  afterwards  president  of  Yale  College,  who  had  married 


COMMERCE    AND    THE    STAGE  317 

my  wife's  sister,  and  at  whose  house  on  Greenfield  Hill  I 
passed  some  of  my  happiest  hours.  I  was  now  rescued  from 
inevitable  destruction.  I  had  lost  the  opportunity  of  becoming 
a  painter,  but  I  might  become  a  useful  and  happy  man.  It 
will  be  observed,  however,  that  I  had  no  education  or  habits 
fitting  me  for  any  definite  pursuit.  My  character  was  fast 
changing,  and  the  monomania  I  have  complained  of  was  van- 
ishing, until  by  degrees  I  learned  to  appreciate  myself  and 
others  with  some  degree  of  justice. 

From  the  year  1789  to  1805  the  events  of  my  life  have  no 
connection  with  the  arts  of  design.  I  was  for  several  years 
an  active  member  of  the  Abolition  Society  of  New  York  —  a 
trustee  of  the  African  School  —  and  twice  represented  the 
society  (in  conjunction  with  other  members)  in  the  conven- 
tions held  in  Philadelphia,  Congress  then  holding  their  sessions 
in  that  city.  I  remember  with  pleasure,  that,  as  chairman  of  a 
committee,  I  drew  up  a  memorial  which  produced  from  Con- 
gress one  of  the  most  efficient  acts  against  the  slave  trade,  and 
under  a  commission  T  afterwards  procured  testimony  which 
caused  the  condemnation  of  one  of  those  infernal  instruments 
of  torture,  a  slave  ship.  During  this  time  I  painted  some 
small  sketchy  likenesses  of  my  friends  C.  B.  Brown,  Elihu  H. 
Smith,  and  a  few  others.  My  father  died,  and  I  liberated  the 
family  slaves,  retaining  some  as  hired  servants.  I  was  engaged 
in  mercantile  journeys.  I  visited  Boston  as  a  merchant,  and 
Philadelphia  several  tunes  on  mercantile  business,  and  twice 
as  a  delegate  to  the  convention  for  promoting  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  I  engaged  in  theatrical  speculations,  and  became 
bankrupt  in  1805. 

My  summers  had  been  passed  at  Perth  Amboy,  writing  for 
my  theatre,  and  traversing  hills,  dales,  and  woods,  with  my 
dog  and  my  gun.  I  have  attributed,  in  an  early  part  of  this 
autobiography,  the  misfortunes  of  men  to  their  own  mis- 
conduct. Sickness  is  a  great  misfortune,  and  I  have  experi- 
enced much  of  it;  generally  to  be  traced  to  excess  or  folly  of 
some  kind.  During  the  period  above  mentioned,  I  passed 
days  in  what  are  called  field  sports,  and  often  under  the  burn- 


318  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ing  sun  of  July  and  August,  and  my  just  reward  was  bilious 
fevers  —  in  some  instances  to  the  extreme  of  illness  consistent 
with  recovery.  I  can  remember  distinctly  the  causes  of  many 
severe  attacks  of  illness  at  that  period  and  since,  to  the  present 
time. 

Some  of  the  particulars  of  the  portion  of  my  life  above  men- 
tioned I  have  published  as  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
American  Theatre.  Deprived  of  property,  and  a  debtor  to 
the  United  States  as  a  security  for  the  marshal  of  New  Jersey, 
who  was  a  defaulter,  I  abandoned  New  York,  and  took  refuge 
with  my  family  in  the  house  of  my  mother,  at  my  native  town 
of  Perth  Amboy. 

I  now  turned  my  attention  to  miniature  painting,  and  found 
that  I  could  make  what  were  acknowledged  likenesses.  I  was 
in  earnest,  and  although  deficient  even  in  the  knowledge 
necessary  to  prepare  ivory  for  the  reception  of  color,  I  im- 
proved. 

It  was  necessary  to  make  exertion  to  procure  money  for  my 
family,  and  I  determined  to  try  Albany,  where  I  yet  had  never 
been,  as  a  place  in  which  work  might  be  obtained.  In  a  sloop, 
after  a  tedious  passage,  I  reached  Hudson;  where  I  found  P. 
Irving,  and  accepted  his  invitation  to  take  part  of  his  gig,  visit 
William  P.  Van  Ness,  and  proceed  together  to  Albany.  After 
two  days  passed  at  Van  Ness's,  we,  keeping  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  crossed  the  ferry  to  the  old  Dutch  city  in  the  evening 
of  the  third.  Here  I  found  my  friend  Judge  Kent,  and  became 
acquainted  with  Gideon  Fairman,  then  commencing  his  career 
as  an  engraver.  I  took  lodging  at  a  boarding  house;  put  some 
miniatures  in  a  jeweller's  window;  consulted  .Fairman  as  to 
prospects,  and  waited  the  result.  Kent  was  very  attentive  to 
me,  and  took  me  to  the  neighboring  villages  of  Troy,  Lansing- 
burgh  and  Waterford  —  then  very  poor  places  (as  well  as 
Albany)  in  comparison  with  the  present  time.  We  rode  to 
the  Cohoes  and  I  was  at  home  in  his  family ;  but  my  board  was 
accumulating,  no  application  for  a  miniature  was  made,  and 
while  I  had  yet  a  few  dollars  it  was  necessary  to  make  another 
move.  I  determined  on  Boston,  and  after  a  most  pleasant  and 


MINIATURE    PAINTING    IN   BOSTON  319 

picturesque  ride,  was  put  down  at  a  stagehouse,  near  the  old 
market,  late  in  the  evening.  I  immediately  sallied  forth  to  find 
an  eligible  place  for  board  and  lodging,  and  in  State  Street, 
almost  the  only  house  still  open,  entered  a  hotel,  and  agreed 
for  six  dollars  a  week  with  Mr.  Thayer  (a  new  landlord  glad  to 
receive  a  customer),  and  removing  my  trunk  I  established 
myself,  having  money  enough  left  to  pay  one  week's  board  — 
and  no  more.  I  found  next  morning  that  Mrs.  Thayer  was  the 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Brown,  with  whom  I  had  boarded  many  weeks 
in  former  and  more  prosperous  days. 

The  next  morning,  with  miniatures  in  my  pocket,  I  visited 
Cornhill,  and  found  myself  at  home  among  the  booksellers, 
who  had  dealt  in  my  plays  and  were  glad  to  see  the  author. 
With  one  of  these,  Mr.  West,  an  amiable  man,  I  left  several 
miniatures  with  my  address,  and  returned  to  my  hotel  to  await 
my  fortune.  In  a  few  hours,  while  reading  the  papers,  I  heard 
an  inquiry  for  the  miniature  painter,  and  was  greeted  with  the 
question,  "Can  you  paint  my  likeness,  sir?"  Most  joyful 
sounds!  "Certainly,  sir."  An  appointment  was  made  for  the 
next  morning,  and  I  felt  the  first  fifteen  dollars  (the  price  I 
had  fixed  on)  already  in  my  pocket.  I  had  from  that  time 
forward  constant  employment,  and  sent  with  delight  a  part  of 
my  profits  home. 

My  former  Boston  acquaintance  had  mostly  vanished,  but 
I  received  calls  and  invitations  from  Josiah  Quincy,  Colonel 
David  Humphreys,  Andrew  Allen  the  British  Consul,  and  from 
Powel,  now  manager  of  the  theatre.  Cooper,  Bernard  and 
others  sat  for  their  pictures.  I  worked  hi  the  forenoon  —  dined 
out  generally  —  and,  when  not  engaged,  visited  the  Federal 
Street  Theatre  —  made  free  to  me. 

There  were  at  this  time  two  good  miniature  painters  in 
Boston  —  Field  and  Malbone;  the  latter  at  the  very  pinnacle 
of  perfection  in  the  art  for  drawing,  coloring,  truth,  and  above 
all,  taste.  I  met  Field  at  Andrew  Allen's,  but  never  became 
acquainted  with  him.  With  Malbone  it  was  different.  I 
showed  him  my  work,  and  he  exclaimed  with  surprise,  "I 
wonder  you  do  so  well  when  your  ivory  is  not  prepared."  He 


320  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

made  an  appointment  for  the  purpose  of  showing  me  the  mode 
of  preparation,  which  he  did  one  morning  after  we  had  passed 
the  evening  at  Allen's,  at  a  great  dinner  party.  "They  told 
me  that  I  might  drink  champagne  without  fear  of  headache," 
said  the  amiable  Malbone,  then  already  in  the  fangs  of  con- 
sumption, "but  I  can  hardly  see,  and  my  head  is  splitting." 

Gilbert  Stuart  was  then  boarding  and  painting  at  Chapo- 
tin's  Hotel.  His  family  were  not  with  him.  T.  A.  Cooper  and 
his  family  were  at  the  same  house.  I  renewed  my  acquaintance 
with  Stuart,  begun  in  London,  and  once  before  renewed  in  New 
York.  I  did  not  see  much  of  him  at  this  time.  His  mornings 
were  employed  at  his  easel,  and  his  afternoons  at  the  dinner 
table. 

I  returned  to  my  family  at  Perth  Amboy,  but  judging  it 
necessary  to  see  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  respecting  the 
debt  incurred  by  the  marshal,  I  proceeded  to  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, taking  my  painting  apparatus  with  me,  and  stopping 
at  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  on  my  way.  At  Philadelphia 
my  friend  C.  B.  Brown,  now  a  married  man  and  settled  near 
his  brothers  and  his  venerable  parents,  gave  me  a  home  and  a 
repetition  of  the  pleasures  I  had  enjoyed  in  his  society  at  my 
house.  Conrad  was  at  this  time  the  Philadelphia  publisher, 
and  my  friend  was  regularly  an  author  by  profession  and  in 
his  employ.  I  have  a  memorandum  of  a  literary  dinner  at 
Conrad's,  which,  written  at  the  time,  has  some  claim  to  atten- 
tion. "January  14,  1806.  I  dined  on  Saturday  at  Conrad's, 
with  a  party  of  literati.  Fessenden  the  author  of  *  Tractoration,' 
Denny,  Mr.  John  Vaughan,  member  of  the  Philosophical 
Society  of  this  place;  Doctor  Chapman,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  *  Edinburgh  Review.'  Fessenden  is  a  huge,  heavy  fellow, 
as  big  as  Colonel  Humphreys,  with  features  as  heavy  as  his 
person,  and  an  address  rather  awkward;  but  his  conversation, 
setting  aside  Yankeeisms,  is  agreeable,  and  evinces  an  amiable 
disposition.  He  is  a  mechanical  as  well  as  poetical  genius,  and 
when  in  England  was  concerned  in  erecting  floating  mills  upon 
the  Thames,  similar  to  those  used  in  France  and  Germany. 
Denny  is  a  small  neat  man,  an  entire  contrast  in  appearance 


THE   PHILADELPHIA   LITERATI  321 

to  the  foregoing.  He  appears  to  be  about  forty-five  years  of 
age,  and  is  well  bespattered  with  gray  hairs.  Though  a  Massa- 
chusetts man,  he  has  freed  his  conversation  from  Yankeeisms, 
and  speaks  with  as  much  facility  as  he  writes.  He  is  polite  in 
his  address,  attentive  to  the  etiquette  of  society,  and  studious 
to  suit  his  conversation  to  those  with  him,  as  well  as  to  elicit 
the  sparks  that  might  otherwise  remain  dormant  —  with  all 
this  I  confess  that  I  did  not  hear  those  brilliant  things  which 
I  expected  from  the  mouth  of  the  editor  of  the  *  Portfolio.' ' 

If  any  person  in  1834  will  look  over  the  numbers  of  this 
popular  and  celebrated  journal,  as  published  in  Philadelphia 
in  1801,  he  must  be  astonished  that  a  work  breathing  the  high- 
est degree  of  ultra-Toryism,  attachment  and  servile  subservi- 
ency to  England,  and  admiration  of  her  political  institutions 
with,  of  course,  bitter  enmity  to  all  that  is  fundamentally 
American,  or  that  is  the  true  source  of  her  prosperity,  could  be 
extensively  circulated  and  popular.  Its  literary  merit  is  great, 
but  the  feelings  of  a  great  party  among  us  must  have  been 
such  as  are  now  incomprehensible. 

I  copy  this  account  of  the  dinner  party  as  the  impression 
made  at  the  time.  I  can  add,  from  memory,  that  this,  the  only 
bookseller's  dinner  I  ever  partook  of,  was  not  very  interesting. 
I  was  of  course  a  cipher.  Brown,  who  when  te"te-a-t£te  with 
me  would  pour  forth  streams  of  copious  eloquence  by  the  hour, 
was  here  as  silent  as  myself. 

I  painted  some  miniatures,  and  early  in  January,  1806,*  pro- 
ceeded to  Baltimore  with  funds  undiminished. 

Groomrich,  elsewhere  mentioned,  was  painting  at  Baltimore, 
and  beside  his  own  landscapes  showed  me  some  clever  pictures 
to  which  he  had  affixed  great  names.  I  now  first  heard  the  name 
of  Guy,  of  Baltimore. 

I  put  up  at  the  Fountain  Hotel,  and  found  employment  for 
some  weeks.  I  at  length  reached  the  great  city,  then  rather  a 
desolate  place,  crude  and  unfinished.  Here  I  found  many 
of  my  friends  as  members  of  Congress,  and  among  them  Samuel 
L.  Mitchill,  with  whom  I  now  rambled  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac  as  we  had  done  on  those  of  the  Thames,  and  with 


322  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

undiminished  good  will.  I  settled  my  business  with  Mr. 
( iallat  in ,  who  instructed  me  in  the  measures  necessary  to  be 
taken  with  the  district  attorney  of  New  Jersey,  and  put  me 
at  rest  respecting  the  debt  of  the  late  marshal.  I  was  intro- 
duced to  Mr.  Jefferson  by  Mitchill,  and  copied  in  miniature 
his  portrait  by  Stuart,  lent  me  by  Mrs.  Madison. 

The  good  old  Vice-President,  George  Clinton,  received  me 
as  an  old  acquaintance,  but  I  saw  little  of  public  men.  Among 
the  old  friends  I  saw  at  Washington,  I  must  not  omit  Joel 
Barlow  and  his  amiable  wife;  and  of  those  from  whom  I  received 
civilities,  Mr.  Thornton  of  the  patent  office. 

I  passed  some  days  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Love,  at  George- 
town, who  insisted  on  my  staying  with  him  while  painting  his 
wife's  miniature.  I  left  Washington  late  in  March,  and  stopped 
for  a  short  time  with  my  friend  Brown  and  his  amiable  wife 
on  my  return.  I  again  visited  them  about  the  beginning  of 
April,  and  passed  three  weeks  with  them:  I  then  returned  to 
my  family  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  devoted  myself  to  painting 
and  gardening. 

My  mother's  house  stood  on  the  main  street  of  the  town, 
and  an  acre  lot  extended  westward  to  a  street  without  houses. 
During  my  supposed  prosperity  as  lessee  of  the  New  York 
Theatre,  I  had  planted  this  garden  with  choice  fruit,  besides 
setting  out  orchards  and  otherwise  improving  a  farm  on  the 
rising  ground  about  a  mile  from  the  city,  where  I  had  planned 
and  enjoyed  an  air  castle;  the  latter  had  passed  away,  and  I 
was  contentedly  working  in  my  mother's  garden,  when  a 
gentleman  approached  from  the  house,  whom  I  soon  recog- 
nized as  my  friend  T.  A.  Cooper.  He  rapidly  informed  me  that 
he  had  taken  the  New  York  Theatre  on  conditions  of  a  rebuild- 
ing of  the  interior  —  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia 
to  make  engagements  —  that  he  wished  me  to  assist  him  as 
general  superintendent  of  his  theatrical  concerns  and  manager 
in  his  absence  —  made  me  such  an  offer  as  to  yearly  emolu- 
ment, to  commence  that  day,  as  I  could  not  reject,  and  pro- 
posed getting  into  a  carriage  in  waiting  and  proceeding  to 
Philadelphia  immediately.  It  did  not  take  long  to  change  dress. 


AUTHOR  AND  EDITOR  323 

dine  or  lunch,  and  I  was  no  longer  a  painter,  but  all  my  mind 
absorbed  in  theatrical  affairs. 

My  situation  in  the  theatre  became  disagreeable,  not  owing 
to  any  acts  of  Mr.  Cooper,  and  in  the  year  1812,  after  a  sacri- 
fice of  another  six  years,  I  relinquished  it  and  again  com- 
menced miniature  painter,  taking  an  apartment  in  Tryon  Row, 
which  had  been  occupied  by  Bass  Otis.  My  family  had  re- 
mained at  Perth  Amboy  as  their  permanent  residence;  my 
success  as  a  miniature  painter  at  this  time  determined  me  to 
remove  them  to  New  York,  and  I  took  a  house  in  Fulton 
Street  hi  despite  of  the  war  then  existing  with  Great  Britain. 
My  business  declined  and  I  commenced  author  again,  by  pub- 
lishing the  Memoirs  of  George  Frederick  Cooke,  and  com- 
mencing a  magazine  under  the  title  of  "The  Recorder,"  in 
both  works  being  assisted  by  my  son.  I  was  applied  to  by 
Mr.  Elijah  Brown  to  write  a  biography  of  my  friend  C.  B. 
Brown,  which  I  did,  encumbered  by  a  selection  made  by  Paul 
Allen,  of  Baltimore,  which  being  in  part  printed  was  to  be 
retained,  by  agreement. 

My  magazine  was  a  source  of  trouble  and  was  running  me 
ni  debt.  I  took  my  painting  materials  and  proceeded  to  Bos- 
ton with  a  double  view  of  aiding  the  periodical,  and  gaining 
something  by  my  pencil.  I  stopped  a  few  days  with  my 
brothers-in-law,  President  Dwight  and  William  W.  Woolsey 
at  New  Haven,  and  painted  some  miniatures  there  and  at 
Hartford,  where  I  passed  some  very  pleasant  days  in  August 
with  my  friends  Theodore  Dwight,  Doctor  Cogswell  and  Mr. 
Scarborough.  I  visited  my  excellent  friend  Richard  Alsop,  at 
Middletown,  and  took  from  him  letters  to  Benjamin  Pollard! 
and  F.  J.  Oliver  of  Boston,  the  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Alsop. 
This  gentleman's  acquaintance  ripened  into  a  friendship  to 
me  invaluable.  On  my  way  to  Boston  I  passed  a  few  days  at 
Providence,  but  finding  no  employment  for  an  itinerant  painter, 
I  pushed  on  and  arrived  at  the  Exchange  Coffee  House  in  the 
evening  of  August  26th.  The  next  day  I  took  up  my  abode 
at  the  boarding  house  of  Mrs.  Brown  in  State  Street,  with 
whom,  at  the  same  house,  I  had  boarded  at  three  different 


324  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

periods,  twenty-two  years,  seventeen  years,  and  seven  years 
before  the  present  visit.  On  the  28th  I  had  a  portrait  begun 
(miniature),  and  in  the  afternoon  a  second  sitting. 

In  the  society  of  Mr.  Oliver,  his  friends  and  relatives,  my 
leisure  hours  were  happily  passed.  Stuart  at  this  time  had 
his  family  with  him  and  lived  at  Roxbury,  where  I  visited  him 
on  the  2d  of  September,  and  was  received  cordially.  My 
journal  says,  "he  has  begun  the  full  length  of  Hull  for  our 
corporation,  and  is  to  begin  Bainbridge  soon.  He  says  Decatur 
and  Lawrence  are  not  bespoke  of  him."  The  Corporation  of 
New  York  have  none  of  his  pictures. 

I  showed  him  the  miniatures  I  had  painted  at  New  Haven, 
and  he  made  his  remarks  freely,  but  strongly  urged  me  to  paint 
in  oil.  I  took  his  advice  on  my  return  to  New  York. 

Finding  no  encouragement  for  the  "Recorder,"  I  wrote  to 
my  son  to  offer  the  work  and  subscribers  to  James  Eastburn, 
of  New  York,  but  he  declined  and  the  magazine  failed. 

On  the  25th  of  October  (having  until  that  time  found  em- 
ployment in  painting  miniatures,  and  delightful  society,  princi- 
pally with  F.  J.  Oliver,  W.  Heard  and  B.  Pollard  and  their 
connections),  I  took  my  friend  Alsop's  wife  under  my  charge 
and  returned  to  Hartford. 

While  I  was  in  Boston  I  received  letters  from  P.  Irving, 
Esq.,  informing  me  that  he  had  agreed  with  Miller  of  London 
to  publish  my  life  of  Cooke  and  divide  the  profit;  but  before  I 
left  it,  I  learned  that  John  Howard  Payne,  having  found  a 
copy  in  a  ship  from  New  York,  with  a  view  to  serve  me,  sold 
it  to  Colburn,  who  got  out  an  edition  before  (or  on  the  same 
day)  with  Miller's,  and  the  two  publishers  agreed  to  make  the 
best  for  themselves,  and  sink  me. 

After  my  return  home  I  commenced  painting  portraits  in  oil, 
and  with  a  success  beyond  my  expectation.  In  the  year  1814, 
when  sitting  at  my  easel,  I  heard  a  knock  at  my  street  door 
and  opened  it  myself,  when,  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  an  orderly 
sergeant,  who  delivered  a  message  from  the  commander-m- 
chief  of  the  third  military  district,  requesting  to  see  Mr.  Dun- 
lap  immediately.  The  surprise  of  a  man  who  had  had  no 


ASSISTANT  PAYMASTER-GENERAL  325 

connection  with  the  political  affairs  of  the  times  (except  express- 
ing his  opinion  and  giving  his  vote,  or  with  the  military  except 
lamenting  disasters  and  rejoicing  in  the  triumphs  of  the  army 
and  navy),  may  be  imagined  at  receiving  such  a  message;  and 
curiosity  alone  was  sufficient  to  carry  me  in  a  short  time  to 
headquarters.  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  was  then  commander  of 
the  district  for  the  United  States.  I  had  seen  him  as  a  judge, 
and  as  governor  of  the  State,  but  had  no  acquaintance  with 
him,  further  than  returning  a  salute  from  him  in  public  which 
showed  that  he  knew  me,  although  I  had  never  exchanged 
words  with  him.  I  found  him  surrounded  by  officers  and  ap- 
plicants, at  a  table  covered  with  papers.  He  broke  off  and 
saluted  me  with  the  smile  of  an  old  friend.  "Mr.  Dunlap,  I 
have  to  apologize  for  not  thinking  of  you  sooner,  if  it  will 
suit  you  to  enter  the  service,  the  best  thing  I  can  now  offer 
you  is  the  office  of  assistant  paymaster-general  of  the  militia 
of  the  State,  in  the  service  of  the  United  States;  walk  into  the 
next  room  and  the  paymaster-general"  (to  whom  he  then  in- 
troduced me),  "will  explain  the  duties,  pay  and  emoluments, 
and  I  shall  be  happy  if  the  office  suits  you."  After  a  short  inter- 
view with  the  paymaster-general,  in  which  he  told  me  what 
steps  must  be  taken  previous  to  exercising  and  receiving  the 
emoluments  of  office,  I  returned  through  the  room  in  which 
Tompkins  still  was,  thanked  him,  accepted  the  office  and 
retired.  Washington  Irving  was  then  one  of  the  commander- 
in-chief's  aids,  and  of  course,  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and  I  sus- 
pect that  it  was  in  consequence  of  his  mentioning  me  to  Tomp- 
kins that  I  received  this  military  appointment.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  manner  of  the  general  was  in  the  highest  degree 
friendly,  and  his  friendship  continued  till  death. 

I  was  thus  again  removed  from  pencil  and  palette,  and  until 
1816,  or  rather  1817,  for  it  was  late  in  the  fall  of  16  before 
my  office  expired,  I  was  engaged  in  affairs  foreign  to  the  Arts 
of  Design.  So  that  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  I  became  permanently 
a  painter. 

Although  in  a  history  of  the  Arts  of  Design  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  depict  the  scenes  and  characters  I  met  with  while 


326  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

paying  off  militia  from  Montauk  Point  to  Lake  Erie,  yet  as 
connected  with  my  life  in  character  of  an  artist,  I  ought  to 
mention  that  I  practised  more  than  ever  I  had  done  before, 
sketching  scenes  from  nature  in  water  colors,  and  making 
faithful  portraits  of  places  which  appeared  worthy  of  my 
attention.  A  habit  of  early  rising  and  pedestrian  exercise 
gave  me  time  and  opportunity  to  visit  and  make  drawings  of 
spots  within  several  miles  of  the  place  at  which  I  was  to  labor 
in  my  vocation  of  paymaster  during  the  remainder  of  the  day. 
My  last  payments  were  made  amidst  the  ruins  of  Buffalo, 
and  being  free  for  a  time,  I  left  my  trunk  at  the  only  tavern 
in  the  place,  and  that  not  half  built,  and  with  my  portfolio 
under  my  left  arm,  containing  a  change  of  linen  with  materials 
for  drawing,  and  my  artist's  three-legged  stool,  resembling  a 
club,  hi  my  right  hand,  I  departed  from  Buffalo  to  visit  Fort 
Erie  and  all  the  wonders  of  the  Niagara  as  a  pedestrian. 

The  artist's  portable  seat  consists  of  three  pieces  of  tough 
wood,  the  smaller  ends  pointed  with  iron  and  the  larger  ends 
bound  together  by  a  strong  iron  ring,  which,  when  slipped 
down,  permits  the  smaller  ends  to  expand  and  form  legs  to 
the  seat  and  the  thicker  likewise  to  expand  for  the  reception  of  a 
small  piece  of  sail  cloth  with  loops,  which  is  carried  in  the 
pocket;  this  forms  the  seat,  and  secures  the  whole,  making  a 
three-legged  stool.  When  not  in  use  as  such,  the  ring  keeps 
the  three  sticks  firmly  together  as  a  short  heavy*  club,  in  which 
state,  as  it  was  generally  seen,  it  was  an  object  of  curiosity 
and  speculation  which  afforded  me  no  little  amusement. 
Crossing  at  Black  Rock  I  visited  the  ruins  of  Fort  Erie,  and 
then  at  my  leisure  walked  towards  the  Falls.  I  took  shelter 
from  rain  at  a  miserable  tavern,  where  I  passed  the  night, 
during  part  of  which  a  set  of  ruffians  poured  out  their  vitupera- 
tions on  Yankees,  as  they  stimulated  then*  passions  with 
whiskey.  The  next  day,  after  stopping  to  make  many  sketches, 
I  reached  the  cottage  of  Forsyth,  near  the  great  cataract.  I 
remained  four  days  at  the  Falls,  and  made  drawings  which 
I  carefully  colored  in  the  open  ah*,  on  the  banks  and  on  the 
table  rock.  This  wonder  of  nature  is  an  exhausted  theme.  I 


WESTERN  NEW  YORK  IN  1815  327 

will  only  remark  that  I  saw  it  in  1815,  and  before  the  artificial 
additions  and  conveniences  were  added,  which  now  exist. 

I  walked  down  the  Canada  side  of  the  Niagara  and  returned 
on  the  American  side,  all  then  either  in  ruins  or  rising  from  the 
effects  of  the  war.  Through  rain  and  mud  I  reached  Buffalo, 
and  found  the  tavern  so  occupied  by  Governor  Tompkins  and 
his  suite,  that  my  trunk  was  deposited  within  the  liquor  bar, 
and  there  alone,  surrounded  by  boors,  I  found  a  place  to  change 
my  clothes.  While  hi  the  act,  Tompkins,  hearing  T  was  in  the 
house,  left  the  dinner  table  to  seek  me,  and  found  me  putting 
on  my  shirt.  I  slept  that  night  amidst  shavings  and  fleas  in 
an  unfinished  garret,  and  next  day  departed  for  home. 

I  was,  as  Doctor  Franklin  has  expressed  it,  at  this  time, 
"a  young  man  of  fifty."  I  was  young  and  active  in  reality, 
and  capable  of  as  much  fatigue  as  at  the  age  of  thirty.  I  had 
never  been  in  the  western  portion  of  the  State  of  New  York; 
and  although  I  knew  that  towns  and  villages  had  succeeded  to 
the  forest  and  the  wigwam,  when  I  actually  saw  the  progress 
of  civilization,  the  scenes  of  activity  and  prosperity,  of  culti- 
vation, fertility  and  riches,  day  after  day  a  succession  of  sur- 
prises and  of  pleasures  heretofore  unknown,  filled  my  mind 
with  delight.  The  remaining  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations  were 
objects  of  curiosity  to  me;  and  I  had  frequent  intercourse  with 
Webster  and  Parish,  the  Indian  interpreters,  men  yet  in  the 
prune  of  life,  who,  when  children,  had  been  carried  off  by  the 
savages,  adopted  by  them,  and  as  young  men,  had  roamed 
with  them  through  the  wilderness  which  I  was  now  traversing 
as  a  paradise. 

I  saw  a  great  deal  of  the  population  of  the  State,  from  the 
Dutch  inhabitants  on  the  Mohawk,  to  the  New  England  men 
further  west  from  Utica  to  Buffalo,  but  I  saw  them  under 
circumstances  which  exhibited  them  to  disadvantage.  They 
congregated  at  the  paymaster's  call,  and  on  receiving  at  a 
public  house  small  sums  of  money  (for  most  of  them  had  only 
been  out  a  short  time)  they  were  too  much  disposed  to  spend 
it  in  drunkenness,  and  in  many  instances  quarrelling  and 
blows  followed.  I  could  communicate  many  facts  respecting 


328  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  militia,  and  much  that  interested  me  relative  to  the  remains 
of  the  Iroquois,  but  that  the  subjects  would  be  out  of  place 
in  this  work,  and  other  subjects  demand  the  space. 

In  1816  I  was  travelling  under  orders  on  Long  Island,  and 
then  north  to  St.  Regis,  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  My  mission  to 
St.  Regis  was  on  business  with  that  tribe  of  Indians;  and  if  I 
might  in  this  memoir  give  my  experience  of  this  people  at  this 
time,  and  in  1815  when  I  visited  the  Onondagas,  with  Webster 
the  interpreter  (a  white  man,  stolen  when  a  child  and  educated 
as  an  Indian),  I  could  state  some  facts  curious  and  elucidative 
of  the  character  of  a  race  fast  passing  away. 

In  the  autumn  I  returned  home  and  resumed  the  profession 
of  painter,  much  less  qualified  for  it  than  in  1814,  for  in  that 
year  I  painted  one  of  my  best  portraits,  which  is  now  with  the 
widow  of  the  subject  (J.  J.  Holland,  Esq.),  at  Vice-Chancellor 
McCoun's,  for  whom  I  have  in  much  later  days  painted  a 
child's  picture,  on  which  I  would  willingly  rest  my  reputation 
as  an  artist.  In  a  sick  chamber,  and  in  aiding  to  re-establish 
what  is  called  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  many 
months  now  passed  away.  I  was  elected  a  director  and  keeper, 
had  a  salary  of  200  dollars  a  year  and  rooms  for  painting 
assigned  to  me,  and  painted  in  the  year  1817  and  1818  many 
portraits. 

My  business  hi  New  York  failing  in  October  1819,  I  deter- 
mined to  try  Virginia  for  the  winter,  and  leaving  a  provision 
with  my  family,  took  150  dollars  with  me  and  letters  to 
Richmond. 

I  dined  with  my  friend  T.  A.  Cooper,  at  his  house  at  Bristol, 
and  took  letters  from  him  to  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  At 
Philadelphia  I  stopped  a  day  or  two  with  Sully,  who  always 
instructs  me.  He  was,  at  this  time,  painting  his  great  picture 
of  the  crossing  of  the  Delaware,  and  occupied  the  Philosophical 
Hall  adjoining  the  State  House.  He  told  me  that  he  had  not 
had  a  portrait  to  paint  for  Philadelphia  since  May  last.  Such 
are  the  fluctuations  in  an  artist's  fortunes.  In  conjunction  with 
a  frame  maker,  Mr.  Earl,  he  had  built  and  opened  an  exhibi- 
tion gallery,  with  little  profit.  Among  the  pictures  were  Leslie's 


VISIT  TO  NORFOLK  329 

"  Death  of  Rutland,"  Ward's  "  Anaconda,  Horse  and  Indian," 
and  a  landscape  by  Gainsborough.  S.  F.  B.  Morse  was  at  this 
time  painting  oil  portraits  successfully  at  Charleston,  S.  C., 
and  C.  Fraser,  miniatures.  Trott  was  in  Philadelphia  at  this 
time,  but  doing  nothing,  and  was  about  visiting  Savannah 
and  Charleston. 

I  now,  for  the  first  time,  saw  Mr.  West's  picture  of  "Healing 
in  the  Temple."  My  first  sensation  was  disappointment.  My 
admiration  followed;  but  the  principal  figure  then  and  since, 
appeared  very  deficient.  I  saw  Allston's  "  Dead  Man  Revived," 
at  the  Pennsylvania  Academy,  and  could  not  but  prefer  much 
of  it  to  the  "Healing  in  the  Temple." 

Oct.  20th.  —  Embark  for  Newcastle  —  cross  to  Frenchtown, 
and  again  embark  in  a  steamboat  for  Baltimore  and  arrive  at 
Baltimore  before  daylight  next  morning.  At  7  A.M.  embarked 
in  steamboat  for  Norfolk,  touched  at  Annapolis  and  went 
ashore,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  landed  at  Norfolk. 

I  was  now  in  a  new  region,  and  all  appeared  strange  to  me. 
The  immense  number  of  negroes  was  very  striking.  After 
a  time  Norfolk  appeared  to  me,  in  many  points,  to  resemble 
the  place  of  my  birth  at  the  time  of  my  childhood  —  no  doubt 
the  black  slave  servants  made  a  principal  feature  in  this  like- 
ness; but  the  roads  and  walks,  the  want  of  cultivation  in  the 
surrounding  country,  and  the  hospitable  manners  of  the  in- 
habitants added  to  the  resemblance.  Norfolk  had  been  long 
on  the  decline,  and  Richmond  had  the  ascendant.  I  knew  no 
one  in  the  place  and  had  not  brought  a  letter.  I  took  up  my 
quarters  at  the  steamboat  hotel,  intending  to  proceed  immedi- 
ately up  James  River;  but  my  landlord,  Matthew  Glenn,  find- 
ing my  plans  and  intentions  from  conversation  with  me,  en- 
gaged me  to  paint  two  portraits  of  his  daughters;  his  own 
portrait  followed,  and  I  remained  in  Norfolk  fully  employed 
until  the  last  of  April,  1820. 

I  soon  found  some  acquaintance  here  from  the  north.  Mr. 
Crawley  was  settled  here  as  a  drawing  master  and  portrait 
painter.  I  found  myself  at  home  in  Norfolk,  and  my  ease  a& 
well  as  profit  was  most  materially  owing  to  Thomas  William- 


330  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

son,  Esq.,  cashier  of  the  branch  bank  of  Virginia,  whose 
hospitable  house  was  literally  a  home,  though  I  continued  to 
board  at  my  hotel.  Mr.  Williamson  has  remained  steadily  to 
this  day  (1834)  my  firm  and  beloved  friend. 

When  it  was  evident  that  I  should  be  from  home  the  whiter, 
I  wrote  to  Alexander  Robertson,  and  enclosed  my  resignation 
as  keeper  of  the  American  Academy.  He  was  elected  keeper 
and  secretary,  without  salary.  Mr.  Trumbull  had  procured 
a  law  that  the  keeper  should  never  be  chosen  from  the  directory. 
Mr.  Joshua  Shaw,  landscape  painter,  passed  a  few  days  at 
Norfolk.  My  reading  this  whiter,  1819-20,  was  not  of  much 
profit,  except  diligent  study  of  Adam  Clark's  edition  of  the 
Bible  and  notes. 

On  the  24th  of  April,  1820, 1  left  Norfolk  on  my  way  home, 
having  promised  to  return  the  next  winter.  If  I  were  to  name 
those  from  whom  I  had  received  attention  and  hospitality,  I 
should  include  all  the  enlightened  part  of  the  population. 

At  Baltimore,  on  my  homeward  journey,  I  found  three  por- 
trait painters.  Rembrandt  Peale,  who  was  living  there,  and 
had  a  museum  and  gallery  —  Sully  and  Eickholtz  visitors. 
The  latter  painting  good  hard  likenesses  at  thirty  dollars  the 
head,  had  most  of  the  business.  I  found  Peale  much  inferior 
to  my  preconceived  opinion  of  him,  and  far  below  Sully  in 
merit. 

The  27th  April,  1820,  I  passed  in  Philadelphia:  visited 
West's  picture  again,  and  Allston's,  and  saw  no  reason  to 
change  the  opinion  I  had  formed  at  my  last  visit.  On  the  28th 
I  arrived  at  home,  and  found  my  family  well.  I  was  now  an 
itinerant  portrait  painter.  In  New  York  little  or  nothing 
to  do.  I  had  received  a  handsome  sum  of  money  at  Norfolk; 
but  my  expenses,  and  my  family  expenses  at  home,  soon 
rendered  it  necessary  to  look  out  for  more;  and  I  determined  to 
try  Lower  Canada  (new  ground  to  me),  and  return  in  time  to 
take  my  wife  to  Norfolk  in  the  autumn,  where  Williamson  was 
to  have  a  painting  room  built  for  me.  Accordingly,  in  the 
afternoon  of  August  9th,  1820, 1  proceeded  by  steam  to  Albany, 
and  by  stage  to  Lake  Champlain.  Passed  the  lake,  and  on 


THE  ISLAND  OF  MONTREAL  331 

landing,  on  the  13th,  at  St.  John's,  found  myself  in  a  foreign 
country;  as  we  rode  on  to  La  Prairie  it  being  Sunday,  we  met 
the  French  peasants  coming  from  church  in  the  costume  of 
Normandy,  as  their  fathers  left  it. 

At  Montreal  I  found  employment  until  the  9th  of  October, 
when  I  judged  it  best  to  seek  home;  but  curiosity,  the  desire 
to  see  Quebec,  and  visit  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  where  my 
father  fought  by  the  side  of  Wolfe  —  to  see  those  places  which 
had  been  made  so  familiar  to  me  in  infancy,  when,  sitting  on 
his  knee  he  told  me  of  battles  on  the  ice  and  marches  with 
snowshoes,  and  all  the  stirring  events  of  war,  so  fascinating  to 
the  child  and  so  repulsive  to  the  "thinking,  understanding  man." 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  describe  a  place  so  well  known 
and  oft  visited  as  Montreal;  but  I  should  do  injustice' to  my 
readers,  and  to  my  friends  found  or  made  there,  if  I  did  not 
copy  some  passages  from  my  journal.  I  had  taken  a  letter 
from  Dr.  Mitchill,  which  introduced  me  to  Dr.  Paine,  now 
a  practitioner  in  New  York,  but  then  a  young  physician  in  this 
foreign  country:  through  him  I  had  the  kind  offices  of  Mr. 
Cunningham,  bookseller  and  librarian,  and  the  society  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Barrett.  "Walk  with  Dr.  Paine  round  the  mountain 
by  the  north,  and  over  part  of  it,  my  friend  botanizing,  while 
I  enjoy  his  conversation  and  the  beautiful  scenery.  —  This 
walk  reminded  me  of  days  long  past,  when  I  studied  botany, 
and  traversed  the  fields  and  rocks  of  Manhattan  with  Dr. 
E.  H.  Smith. 

"The  whole  island  of  Montreal  is  a  plain,  except  this  hill, 
which  gives  it  name.  It  is  all  capable  of  the  highest  cultivation, 
and  a  great  part  is  in  that  state :  farms,  orchards,  villages,  and 
glittering  spires,  appear  in  every  direction.  We  took  shrub  and 
water,  with  cakes  and  bread,  at  a  small  Canadian  public  house; 
and  were  served  by  a  neat,  polite,  and  pretty  landlady."  As 
a  contrast  to  this  neat  and  comfortable  auberge,  I  mention  one 
more  truly  Canadian.  Being  out  on  a  pedestrian  excursion, 
with  a  companion,  "after  a  walk  of  ten  miles  we  sought  food 
and  refreshment  at  a  tavern  of  larger  size  and  more  prepossess- 
ing appearance  than  common.  The  keeper  agreed  to  give  us 


332  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

(having  nothing  else)  some  bread,  eggs,  and  brandy.  The 
brandy  came  first,  and  proved  to  be  miserable  rum.  The  land- 
lady brought  in  six  eggs  in  a  soup  plate  and  one  large  pewter 
spoon :  she  then  went  out  and  brought  in  part  of  a  loaf  of  sour 
brown  bread  grasped  in  one  hand  and  a  saucer  with  salt  in  the 
other,  and  with  the  spoon  she  ground  the  salt  from  coarse  to  fine 
in  the  saucer.  We  saw  before  us  our  dinner,  its  condiments,  and 
its  furniture :  no  plates,  no  knives ;  six  eggs  to  be  managed  as  we 
could  with  one  large  spoon.  Nothing  more  was  to  be  had;  and, 
much  amused  by  the  specimen  of  Canadian  tavern  keeping, 
we  soon  dispatched  the  eggs,  and  departed  as  hungry  as  we 
came.  This  was  not  a  hovel,  but  a  good-looking  house,  with  a 
large  sign,  several  apartments  decorated  with  pictures  of 
saints,  virgins,  and  abundance  of  crucifixes,  and  immediately 
opposite  the  village  church." 

At  the  Mansion  House  Hotel,  splendidly  kept  by  an  English- 
man, I  became  acquainted  with  a  very  intelligent  Scotch 
gentleman,  Mr.  William  Thomson,  attached  to  the  commis- 
sariat. —  He  had  been  with  the  army  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  was  well  acquainted  with  books,  men,  and  pictures, 
and  drew  correctly  himself.  He  favored  me  with  the  reading 
of  a  journal  kept  by  him  in  France  and  Holland,  with  many  ex- 
cellent sketches. 

The  governor,  Lord  Dalhousie,  one  of  Wellington's  generals, 
with  his  aid,  visited  my  painting  room.  He  is  a  plain  gentle- 
manly soldier.  He  spoke  of  himself  as  a  stranger  in  the  country; 
and,  after  some  pleasant  chat,  said  he  should  be  glad  to  see 
me  at  Quebec,  and  I  must  call  upon  him;  adding,  "but  I  shall 
not  be  there  until  the  end  of  the  month."  The  next  day  he 
departed,  amidst  drums,  trumpets,  and  peals  of  cannon,  to 
visit  Upper  Canada. 

The  convents,  churches,  etc.,  were  visited  of  course,  and  I 
by  invitation  breakfasted  with  Mr.  M'Gilvary  at  his  very 
pleasant  house  on  the  road  to  La  Chine.  "He  has  a  fine  head 
of  himself  by  Stuart,  which  he  finds  fault  with,  because  the 
drapery  is  slighted,  and  a  beautiful  portrait  of  his  brother  by 
Shee." 


MANNERS,  NORTH  AND  SOUTH  333 

I  find  the  following  comparison  between  Norfolk  and  Mont- 
real in  my  journal.  "  They  have  two  similar  customs;  they 
sweep  their  chimneys  by  pulling  a  rope  up  and  down  with 
brushwood  attached  to  it  —  and  they  bring  their  country 
produce  to  market  in  one-horse  carts,  which  are  arranged  in 
order  on  the  market  square.  In  both  places  the  inhabitants  are 
supplied  with  water  by  carting  in  casks,  as  in  former  times  at 
New  York;  but  how  different  are  the  two  places  in  many 
respects :  the  cold,  close,  cautious,  inhospitable  manners  of  the 
motley  and  jarring  population  here,  contrast  as  strongly  with 
the  free,  open,  warm-hearted  Virginians,  as  the  solid  prison- 
like  hybernacles,  the  stone  houses,  with  their  deep  retiring 
windows,  and  doors,  and  iron  window  shutters  do  with  the 
light  ever-open  habitations  of  the  children  of  the  South.  But 
then  here  is  no  slave  population !  Oh,  what  a  paradise  would 
Virginia  be,  if  it  had,  instead  of  its  negroes,  the  intelligent 
population  of  the  Middle  States,  or  even  the  hardy  ignorant 
French  peasants  of  Canada,  for  in  Virginia  they  would  not 
remain  as  they  now  do,  French  peasants" 

I  made  several  excursions  in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal, 
and  passed  one  day  at  Leney's  cottage,  who,  giving  up  his 
profession  of  engraver,  was  cultivating  a  farm  near  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  I  was  hospitably  entertained  at  La  Chine 
by  Col.  Finlay  and  his  family.  On  Monday  the  9th  of  October, 
I  embarked  in  the  steamboat  "Telegraph"  for  Quebec.  After  a 
very  stormy  passage  down  the  river,  with  torrents  of  rain, 
which  form  waterfalls  from  the  precipitous  banks  of  the  river, 
we  arrived  at  the  very  picturesque  and  famous  city  of  Quebec. 
I  had  never  before  the  true  idea  of  a  fortified  town,  and  this 
is  a  second  Gibraltar.  The  lofty  rock  of  Cape  Diamond  frown- 
ing on  the  lower  town;  the  tiers  on  tiers  of  guns  mounted  in 
every  direction,  with  the  irregularity  of  streets  as  you  mount 
to  the  upper  town,  all  fortress  and  garnished  with  cannon,  so 
unlike  anything  I  have  ever  seen,  baffles  my  poor  talent  at 
description.  The  river,  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  lies  far 
below,  and  above  all,  is  the  Castle  and  Government  House 
on  Cape  Diamond.  I  arrived  on  Wednesday;  on  Thursday  I 


334  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

saw  the  town,  and  walked  over  the  Plains  of  Abraham;  and  on 
Friday,  a  cold  day,  and  part  of  the  time  snowing,  I  walked  to 
the  Falls  of  Montmorency,  made  sketches  with  benumbed 
fingers,  enjoyed  scenery  of  the  most  superb  kind,  almost  aton- 
ing for  starvation  from  cold  and  hunger  (for  I  could  not  obtain 
a  piece  of  bread  that  I  could  eat)  and  got  back  to  the  hotel  at 
Quebec  to  a  dinner  and  the  warmth  of  a  fire  that  reminded  me 
of  my  distance  from  home. 

I  remained  after  my  return  but  a  few  days  at  Montreal,  and 
then  pressed  my  homeward  journey;  arriving  on  the  24th  of 
October,  after  pleasant  travelling  with  summer-like  weather. 

Leaving  our  son  and  daughter  to  keep  house  hi  New  York, 
myself  and  wife  proceeded  on  OUT  promised  visit  to  Norfolk  the 
13th  of  November,  1820.  We  passed  some  very  pleasant  days 
with  the  family  of  Charles  Chauncey,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia  — 
stopped  a  day  at  Baltimore,  and  on  Tuesday  the  21st  of  No- 
vember, found  our  friend  Williamson  ready  to  conduct  us 
from  the  steamboat  to  his  hospitable  mansion  at  Norfolk. 

Previous  to  this  time  I  had  painted  a  great  many  portraits, 
and  (never  satisfied)  my  style  and  palette  were  ever  changing. 
I  did  my  best  always,  but  much  depended  on  my  sitters.  The 
best  head  I  had  painted  was  my  friend  John  Joseph  Holland, 
who  felt  and  sat  like  an  artist,  and  my  own  head  painted  with 
great  care  and  study  from  a  mirror.  I  had  likewise  painted 
since  resuming  the  oil  brush,  an  historic  or  Scripture  piece  on 
a  cloth  eight  feet  by  five.  The  subject  was  the  young  Saviour 
with  the  doctors  in  the  Temple,  and  parts  of  this  were  good; 
the  boy's  head  was  truly  fine.  This  picture  was  rolled  on  a 
cylinder  made  of  unseasoned  wood,  and  being  packed  up  was 
left  unopened  for  many  months  —  on  taking  it  from  the 
packing  case,  it  fell  into  pieces  and  was  lost  entirely. 

After  staying  a  few  days  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williamson, 
we  removed  to  a  boarding  house,  very  pleasantly  situated  in 
Granby  Street,  but  I  had  to  wait  some  days  before  my  new 
rooms  were  ready  for  me;  that  accomplished,  I  put  up  my  pic- 
tures and  commenced  painting.  My  exhibition  room  contained 
sixty  pictures  of  my  own  painting;  the  principal  being  the 


A  GREAT  PICTURE  PLANNED  335 

picture  above  mentioned.  I  hired  a  person  to  attend  it,  and 
printed  catalogues  in  due  form. 

This  winter  passed  pleasantly;  my  wife  owing  much  of  her 
enjoyment  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williamson's  attentions;  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  May  she  accompanied  Mrs.  Williamson  to  their 
country  seat  at  Ferryville,  near  the  shores  of  the  bay,  and  on 
the  banks  of  an  inlet,  where  I  passed  many  days  in  rambling, 
and  in  fishing  excursions  with  my  friend. 

I  painted  many  portraits  during  this  second  residence  in 
Norfolk,  and  made  a  sketch  36  inches  by  30,  as  a  model  for  an 
intended  great  picture,  to  be  called  "  Christ  Rejected."  This  I 
composed  according  to  the  printed  descriptions  of  Mr.  West's 
picture  of  that  name.  I  made  use  of  the  parts  of  figures  he 
had  published,  composing,  as  far  as  I  could,  to  suit  them,  the 
principal  groups  and  figures.  The  following  is  an  extract  from 
my  scanty  journal,  dated  February  19,  1821. 

"Monday.  —  A  fine  clear  day.  I  am  this  day  fifty-five  years 
of  age;  this  is  the  second  birthday  in  Norfolk;  but  since  the 
last  what  a  variety  of  scenes  have  I  passed  through!  I  yester- 
day answered  a  letter  from  my  amiable  friend  Doctor  Paine, 
of  Montreal,  which  revived  the  events  of  last  fall,  and  may  per- 
haps lead  me  again  to  Canada.  But  in  all  —  thy  will  be  done, 

0  God!  And  may  I  remember  that  if  I  truly  wish  thy  will  to 
be  done,  I  shall  strive  to  do  thy  will;  and  that  thy  will  is  truth 
and  love." 

We  left  Norfolk  and  returned  home  the  last  of  June,  1821, 
taking  with  us  Master  John  Williamson,  the  second  son  of  our 
friends.  To  paint  a  great  picture,  now  occupied  all  my  thoughts. 

1  purchased  of  my  friend  Sully  a  cloth  18  feet  by  12,  which  he 
had  imported  from  England  —  but  where  to  put  up  a  canvas 
of  that  size,  and  have  a  proper  light  on  the  work? 

Not  being  able  to  put  up  my  canvas  hi  a  proper  place,  I 
raised  it  in  the  garret  of  the  house  I  occupied  in  Leonard  Street, 
with  conflicting  lights  all  below  the  centre  of  the  cloth,  and 
thus  proceeded  with  my  work  through  a  hot  summer,  some- 
times discouraged,  but  generally  pleased  to  see  effects  produced, 
which  I  had  thought  beyond  my  power.  In  November,  I  took 


336  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

down  the  canvas,  and  packed  it  for  the  purpose  of  transporta- 
tion to  Norfolk,  where  I  purposed  to  pass  a  third  winter,  and 
knew  I  had  a  better  place  than  my  garret  to  work  on  the 
picture,  as  well  as  better  prospect  of  lucrative  employment 
while  finishing  it.  It  was  accordingly  shipped,  and  on  the  22d 
of  November,  1821,  with  my  young  friend  John  Williamson, 
I  embarked  again  for  Virginia  by  the  way  of  Philadelphia. 
At  Philadelphia  I  saw  my  friend  Sully  and  family,  and  of 
course  his  beautiful  copy  of  the  Capuchin  Chapel  —  West's 
picture  —  the  pictures  of  the  Academy,  etc.  At  Baltimore,  I 
visited  Rembrandt  Peale's  Museum  and  Gallery.  He  had  just 
finished  his  picture  of  "A  mother  attracting  her  infant  from  a 
precipice."  It  did  not  please  me  as  a  composition.  I  think 
the  subject  better  for  the  page  than  the  canvas.  We  arrived 
on  the  27th. 

After  some  days'  recreation  with  Williamson  at  Ferry ville, 
living  upon  the  best  oysters  and  hoecake  in  the  world,  I  got 
up  my  18  by  12  cloth,  and  worked  assiduously  at  it  through 
the  winter,  except  at  intervals  when  employed  on  portraits  or 
otherwise.  I  boarded  at  a  new  hotel  kept  by  Major  Cooper; 
having  remained  with  my  friend  Williamson  until  January  8th, 
1822,  during  the  preparations  for  opening  the  new  house. 

I  had  become  acquainted  at  Williamson's  with  a  very  fine 
young  man  of  the  name  of  Douthat,  who  had  married  a  lovely 
woman,  and  was  settled  on  a  fine  plantation  up  James  River, 
near  the  house  of  his  father-in-law  Mr.  Lewis,  the  proprietor 
of  Wyanoke,  famous  in  early  Virginia  history.  I  had  promised 
Douthat  to  visit  Westover,  the  name  of  his  residence.  In 
the  beginning  of  February  Williamson  went  up  to  Douthat 's. 
On  the  llth  of  February  my  young  friend  John  Williamson 
called  to  show  me  a  letter  from  his  father,  saying,  that  Mr. 
Douthat  was  much  disappo'nted  at  my  not  coming  —  had  pre- 
pared a  room  for  me,  and  engaged  several  portraits  for  me  to 
paint;  thus  joining  profit  to  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  hospit- 
able planters  of  James  River.  Williamson  pressed  my  coming 
up  immediately,  and  I  made  my  arrangements  for  so  doing. 

On  the  15th  I  went  up  the  river  in  a  good  steamboat,  passed 


A  SOUTHERN  PLANTATION  337 

James  Island,  where  all  that  remains  of  the  old  Jamestown  is 
a  ruined  belfry  of  a  church;  about  sunset  passed  Wyanoke 
where  the  English  made  their  second  attempt  at  settlement, 
and  after  dark,  arrived  opposite  Westover,  the  third  place 
attempted.    The  Whites  chose  an  island,  and  two  presque 
isles,  as  affording  easier  defence  against  the  savages.   Douthat 
came  off  in  his  boat,  and  escorted  me  to  his  splendid  mansion. 
I  here  found  my  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williamson,  and  the 
warmest  welcome  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douthat.   The  next  day 
we  proceeded  by  water  to  Wyanoke,  the  plantation  of  Mr. 
Lewis.    This  place,  so  well  known  in  our  early  history  as  the 
second  spot  selected  by  the  English  for  their  settlement,  is 
nearly  surrounded  by  the  waters  of  James  River.   At  the  time 
of  my  visit  it  formed  a  model  for  a  well-cultivated  Virginia 
plantation,  as  worked  by  slave  labor,  under  a  wise  and  humane 
master.    I  have  remarked  in  my  journal,  that  "I  should  not 
have  known  Virginia  if  I  had  not  come  up  James  River,"  for 
Norfolk  and  the  neighborhood  is  by  nature  a  part  of  North 
Carolina,  and  although  my  friend  Williamson's  plantation  at 
Ferryville  (once  the  site  of  a  town,  with  a  church  long  aban- 
doned, and  a  Courthouse  where  Patrick  Henry  was  heard, 
and  where  now  a  part  of  the  plantation  negroes  reside),  al- 
though Ferryville  was  a  source  of  delight  to  me  and  many 
more,  its  master's  chief  occupation  being  in  Norfolk,  and  the 
soil  very  poor,  it  did  not  represent  the  seat  of  a  Virginia  planter. 
At  Wyanoke  all  was  in  high  cultivation  and  perfect  order. 
The  overseer  was  intelligent,  and  was  directed  by  the  master. 
The  house  servants,  though  occupying  a   building  separate 
from  the  mansion,  as  is  the  case  on  the  plantations,  and  even 
in  many  instances  in  the  towns  of  Virginia,  were  orderly  and 
fully  employed  in  the  duties  imposed  by  the  owner's  hospi- 
tality. I  had  lived  well  all  my  life  (except  with  old  Bobby  Davy 
in  London),  and  certainly  the  luxuries  of  Norfolk,  and  the 
good  cheer  at  my  friend  Williamson's  did  not  mislead  me  in 
my  estimate  of  the  living  at  Wyanoke  and  Westover,  but  I 
could  not  avoid  looking  with  surprise  at  the  well-covered  table, 
especially  at  breakfast,  where  the  varieties  of  hot  breads  of 


338  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  finest  kind  exceeded  anything  I  had  met  with.  Indian 
corn  bread  in  three  or  four  shapes,  all  excellent;  buckwheat 
cakes;  cakes  of  different  kinds  made  of  the  best  wheat  flour  in 
the  world,  and  loaf  bread  of  the  same,  all  hot  and  all  as  perfect 
in  the  cooking  as  the  material;  and  all  this  as  accompaniment 
to  the  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl,  and  the  usual  liquid  beverage  of  the 
breakfast  table. 

Westover,  the  third  station  selected  by  the  English  colo- 
nists, is  like  Wyanoke,  a  presque  isle.  The  estate  had  been 
recently  purchased  by  Mr.  Robert  Douthat.  The  house  had 
originally  been  the  most  splendid  probably  on  the  river,  and 
was  still  a  magnificent  mansion.  In  the  garden  is  a  marble 
monumental  ornament,  with  sculptured  urns,  shields,  and  coats 
of  arms;  and  an  inscription,  commemorating  the  Hon.  Wm. 
Byrd,  former  owner  of  this  and  other  great  estates  in  Virginia. 
He  died  in  1744.  Having  been  educated  in  England,  he  en- 
joyed the  friendship  of  the  great  of  that  day,  and  was,  after 
his  return,  president  of  his  Majesty's  council  for  the  colony. 
He  inherited  his  estates  from  his  father,  who  lies  buried,  with 
others  of  the  family,  in  a  large  walled  cemetery  on  the  estate. 
The  son  of  the  president  of  the  council  was  likewise  educated 
in  England,  or  at  home;  is  said  to  have  been  an  accomplished 
gentleman,  one  consequence  of  his  home-bred  education:  an- 
other was,  that  he  became  famous  for  losing  10,000  guineas  on 
one  cast  of  the  die;  and  the  result  is,  that  the  fourth  generation 
are  in  comparative  poverty,  and  have  sold  the  estate  and  palace 
to  one  who  begins  a  new  dynasty,  and  calls  America  his  home. 

Discerning  men  have  expressed  astonishment  at  the  servile 
adulation  which  Americans  pay  to  the  customs  and  opinions 
of  England.  It  is  an  evil  which  has  been  planted  in  our  courts 
of  justice;  but,  with  wigs  and  gowns,  is  giving  way  to  com- 
mon sense  and  the  democratic  principle;  yet  it  shows  itself 
mischievously  even  in  our  legislative  councils,  although  our 
constitution  of  government  is  opposed  to  monarchy  and  aris- 
tocracy: but  is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  when  we  recollect  that 
men  yet  live  who  were  taught  in  infancy  to  reverence  the  king 
next  to  God,  and  to  obey  him  implicitly  and  "all  in  authority 


COLONEL  BYRD  OF  WESTOVER  339 

under  him";  and  that,  up  to  this  day,  we  look  to  England  for 
our  books,  and  fear  to  praise  (almost  to  read)  one  of  native 
growth,  until  some  hireling  English  or  Scotch  reviewer  has 
stamped  it  with  the  seal  of  his  approbation? 

At  the  time  when  the  elder  Mr.  Byrd  built  his  palace  at 
Westover,  not  only  a  man's  opinions,  but  the  bricks  and  stone 
and  woodwork  of  an  American  gentleman's  house  were  im- 
ported from  England:  and  if  the  colonists  had  not  resisted 
the  usurpations  of  the  English  aristocracy,  we  might  at  this 
time  have  sent  our  cotton  and  wool,  our  leather  and  fur,  as 
well  as  our  thoughts  to  that  country,  to  be  worked  over  before 
we  were  permitted  to  use  them. 

There  was  more  costly  magnificence  in  and  about  the  house 
at  Westover  than  I  had  seen  anywhere  in  our  country;  but 
all  had  become  dilapidated,  and  was  under  the  repairing  hand 
of  the  present  possessor.  The  wall  which  surrounded  the 
house  was  entered  through  gates  of  lofty  iron  railwork:  the 
brick  pillars  were  ornamented  with  eagles,  globes,  vases,  and 
other  well-executed  sculptures,  all  brought  from  home.  — 
The  house  is  large  and  heavy,  with  spacious  hall  and  staircase. 
The  rooms  high  and  wainscotted,  from  the  floors  to  the  richly 
decorated  ceilings.  All  the  sculptured  work,  and,  in  fact,  every 
other  part,  if  well  wrought,  was,  at  that  tune,  necessarily 
imported.  The  situation  of  the  house  was  well  chosen;  com- 
manding extensive  views  of  the  superb  river,  the  opposite 
shores,  and  the  surrounding  plantation.  The  buildings  on  the 
Westover  estate,  beside  the  mansion  house,  consist  of  fourteen 
brick  houses,  and  several  framed  ones  of  wood.  The  dwelling 
place  for  the  dead  has  been  judiciously  walled  in,  at  a  due 
distance  from  that  of  the  living  who  are  to  rest  there,  and  out 
of  sight.  I  visited  it  one  cold  morning,  and  copied  some  of 
the  inscriptions.  It  is  not  an  uninteresting  fact  to  Americans, 
that  the  first  husband  of  Mrs.  Washington  (Mr.  Custis)  had 
been  intended,  by  his  father,  as  the  husband  of  one  of  this 
Byrd  family;  Colonel  Byrd,  of  Westover,  being,  at  that  time, 
"from  his  influence  and  vast  possessions,  almost  a  Count 
Palatine  of  Virginia." 


340  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

At  Wyanoke  was  a  son  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  his 
wife,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Lewis,  with  occasionally  other  visitors. 
I  remained  among  these  hospitable  and  excellent  people, 
sometimes  at  Douthat's  and  sometimes  at  Lewis's,  until  the 
7th  of  March,  and  painted  several  portraits.  On  that  day  I 
embarked  for  Richmond,  and  had  the  good  fortune  to  find 
General  Taylor,  of  Norfolk,  on  board,  who,  on  our  arrival, 
next  morning,  at  Richmond,  pointed  out  some  of  the  principal 
edifices.  I  then  rambled  over  the  city,  and  up  the  banks  of 
James  River  to  the  canal,  from  whence  the  view  of  the  rapids, 
the  water,  and  the  town,  is  strikingly  beautiful.  I  visited  the 
museum,  the  capital,  and  examined  Houdon's  statue  of  Wash- 
ington, which  I  did  not  and  could  not  admire.  Of  the  artist 
and  his  work  I  shall  speak  hereafter.  I  called  on  Mr.  Petticolas, 
and  introduced  myself  to  him.  Of  him  and  his  paintings  here- 
after. I  visited  some  ladies  I  had  become  acquainted  with  at 
Norfolk,  and,  refusing  invitations,  dined  as  I  had  breakfasted, 
at  a  hotel.  Notwithstanding  all  the  agreeables  at  the  hospitable 
mansions  I  had  come  from,  I  felt  like  a  prisoner  escaped  from 
confinement.  It  was  not  so  with  me  at  Williamson's  —  he 
made  me  at  home  —  his  house  was  "mine  inn,"  and  he  paid 
me  for  using  it. 

I  visited  Bishop  Moore  without  seeing  him  —  and  the  church 
built  where  the  theatre  was  burned;  I  saw  its  monument,  in- 
scribed with  the  names  of  forty-nine  women  and  twenty  men, 
who  perished  on  the  occasion.  My  visit  to  Richmond  was  too 
hurried  to  allow  of  describing  its  beauties,  and  most  readers 
will  be  glad  of  it.  On  Sunday,  the  10th  of  March,  I  embarked, 
and  arrived  late  at  night  at  Norfolk;  seeing  nothing  on  the 
passage  that  excited  my  feelings,  except  a  brig  loaded  with 
negroes  for  New  Orleans! 

Sully's  copy  of  the  Capuchin  Chapel  was  brought  to  Nor- 
folk, and  I  did  my  duty  towards  it.  It  received  in  two 
weeks'  exhibition  upwards  of  two  hundred  dollars.  I  now 
worked  assiduously  at  my  "Christ  Rejected,"  and  before  I 
left  Norfolk  exhibited  it  in  what  I  then  thought  a  finished 
state.  I  printed  a  descriptive  pamphlet,  in  which  I  pointed  out 


LAWRENCE'S  PORTRAIT  OF  WEST  341 

all  the  figures  borrowed  from  West.  During  its  exhibition  I 
painted  several  portraits.  I  visited  my  old  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Irwin,  at  Fort  Monroe. 

It  is  hazardous  for  a  man  to  visit  Virginia,  the  temptations 
to  indulging  appetite  are  so  great.  Yet  excess  is  as  seldom 
seen  at  Norfolk  as  at  the  northern  cities.  I  must  mention  three 
temptations  peculiar  to  the  country:  toddy  just  before  dinner; 
and  in  summer  mint  juleps  before  breakfast,  the  fresh  mint 
spread  over  the  top  of  the  bowl,  and  the  ice  and  sugar  dis- 
guising the  fiery  poison;  and  last,  not  least,  egg-nog  in  the 
winter,  a  Christmas  custom. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1822, 1  left  Norfolk,  I  presume  for  the  last 
time,  though  it  is  as  a  home  to  me.  I  gave  Williamson  a 
portrait  of  myself,  and  the  original  sketch  of  the  "Christ 
Rejected,"  in  which,  as  I  remember,  the  Magdalen  is  abomi- 
nably bad,  poor  thing!  and  I  had  no  power  to  make  her  better. 
I  engaged  a  young  Irishman  of  the  name  of  Doherty,  who 
aspired  to  be  a  painter,  to  take  charge  of  the  "Christ  Re- 
jected," and  shipped  it  by  way  of  Baltimore  for  Philadelphia, 
where  I  had  engaged  Sully  and  Earl's  gallery  at  ten  dollars 
the  week.  My  other  pictures  I  shipped  by  sea  to  New  York. 
At  Baltimore  I  saw  for  the  first  time  Gruin's  very  fine  picture 
of  the  "Descent  from  the  Cross,"  presented  to  the  Roman 
Cathedral  by  the  King  of  France.  At  Philadelphia  I  left 
directions  for  Doherty  respecting  the  exhibition  of  my  picture, 
and  proceeded  home,  where  happily  I  found  all  well.  Of  works 
of  art  I  found  the  only  thing  new  to  be  pleased  with,  Lawrence's 
great  full  length  of  West,  a  perfect  likeness  in  the  face,  but 
far  too  large  and  tall  for  truth.  The  composition  perfect. 
For  this  portrait,  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  received  from  a  num- 
ber of  gentlemen  of  New  York  two  thousand  dollars;  but  his 
English  and  Scotch  biographers  make  a  present  of  it  from  this 
great  and  generous  man  to  the  American  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  in  return  for  making  him  a  member  of  that  illustrious 
body.  Such  is  biography.  Cunningham  adds,  "The  Academy 
of  Florence,  having  heard  that  Lawrence  had  painted  one  of 
his  finest  portraits  as  a  present  to  the  American  Society," 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

(here  the  biographer  stumbled  on  the  right  name,  "society"), 
"instantly  elected  him  a  member  of  the  first  class;  but  Sir 
Thomas,  probably  penetrating  the  motive  of  their  kindness, 
sent  nothing."  This  motive,  assigned  to  the  Academy  of 
Florence,  is  probably  as  groundless  a  fabrication  as  Sir 
Thomas's  generosity  to  America.  We  are  glad  to  have  so  fine  a 
picture  of  our  great  countryman,  by  so  great  a  painter  as  his 
successor;  but  it  was  bargained  for,  the  price  fixed  by  the 
painter,  and  paid  for  by  those  who  subscribed  the  money.  The 
bills  and  receipts  are  vouchers  against  romance  in  the  shape  of 
biography. 

Rembrandt  Peale  was  now  in  a  large  house  in  Broadway,  at 
a  rent  of  nine  hundred  dollars;  this  lasted  one  year.  He  had 
been  in  New  York  from  1st  May,  and  had  begun  one  head. 
On  the  9th  of  June  I  was  again  in  Philadelphia,  to  see  to  put- 
ting up  my  picture,  and  working  on  it  before  opening  it  for 
exhibition.  I  could  see  its  faults  better  than  at  Norfolk;  but 
in  a  good  light  and  room  I  was  surprised  at  its  effect,  and  en- 
couraged by  seeing  that,  with  all  its  imperfections,  it  was  a 
powerful  picture,  with  some  good  parts,  far  beyond  my  expec- 
tations; for  I  knew  my  deficiencies  well  —  better  than  any  one. 
As  Doherty  was  new  to  the  business  of  exhibiting  pictures,  I 
remained  some  days,  amusing  myself  principally  by  walking 
on  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers  that  enrich  and  beautify  the 
city. 

I  had  reason  to  be  gratified  by  the  impression  made  upon 
the  public,  and  the  surprise  it  excited  among  the  artists. 
Sully,  my  friend,  talked  with  me  of  its  faults,  and  how  to 
amend  them.  "But  you  have  a  precious  line  of  light  upon 
those  soldiers'  heads."  "Oh!"  cried  Robinson,  an  English 
miniature  painter,  and  pretty  clever,  "throw  shadow  over 
those  soldiers'  heads,  sir,  such  a  light  destroys  that  part  of 
your  picture."  For  my  own  part,  I  never  see  the  picture  with- 
out wondering,  that,  with  my  defective  drawing  (and,  I  may 
add,  coloring),  I  could  produce  a  painting  with  the  merit 
it  possesses.  I  had,  after  taking  up  the  pencil  when  beyond 
the  middle  of  life,  tried  to  remedy  my  deficiencies;  and  it  may 


CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  DEFECTS  343 

be  an  argument  for  industry  and  determined  application,  that 
so  late  and  with  so  many  interruptions,  I  should  have  succeeded 
as  far  as  I  have. 

I  had  an  opportunity,  during  this  visit,  to  see  my  former 
friends,  the  mother  of  Charles  B.  Brown,  one  brother,  and  the 
widow  of  another.  His  widow  was  out,  and  I  did  not  see  her 
while  in  the  place.  A  Mr.  Street,  a  young  man,  carried  me  to 
see  his  pictures,  and  seemed  delighted  with  them. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  —  Continued. 

ON  the  22d  of  June  I  sent  my  picture  by  sea,  Doherty 
attending  it,  to  Boston,  having  engaged  a  very  fine  room  for 
its  exhibition,  and  I  returned  home,  little  the  better  as  yet  in 
cash  by  my  experiment.  I  again  visited  Boston,  and  in  July, 
1822,  I  put  up  my  picture  in  Doggett's  great  room,  a  noble 
place,  soon  afterward  appropriated  to  other  purposes;  and 
although  I  had  my  vanity  gratified,  I  experienced  that  very 
warm  weather  is  unpropitious  to  exhibitions.  My  old  friend 
Stuart  seemed  surprised  at  the  effort  I  had  made,  and  pointed 
out  some  faults  —  heaven  knows  there  were  enough  of  them. 
Jarvis  and  his  pupil  Henry  Inman  came  to  Boston  to  seek 
employment,  but  did  little.  Henry's  beautiful  little  water- 
colored  likenesses  were  a  source  of  some  profit.  Jarvis,  in  a 
very  friendly  way,  pointed  out  an  error  in  the  neck  and  head 
of  the  Magdalen,  and  observed,  "Henry  noticed  it."  I  subse- 
quently endeavored  to  remedy  the  defect.  In  Mr.  John 
Doggett  I  found  a  most  friendly  man.  My  friends,  Francis 
J.  Oliver,  Mr.  Heard,  Mr.  Pollard,  and  others,  were  still,  as 
ever,  my  friends.  Sereno  E.  Dwight,  the  son  of  Dr.  Dwight, 
was  now  a  preacher  established  in  Boston.  I  had  some  por- 
traits to  do,  and  passed  an  agreeable  summer.  In  New  York 
an  alarm  prevailed  of  yellow  fever,  but  no  apprehensions  were 
entertained  in  the  quarter  where  my  family  resided.  Still  my 
experiment  in  great  historical  painting  yielded  little  profit. 
Again  I  shipped  my  picture  further  east,  to  Portland;  and 
here  the  tide  of  fortune  turned.  This  place  yielded,  over  all 
expenses,  between  two  and  three  hundred  dollars  in  two  weeks. 

On  hearing  of  this  success,  I  passed  rapidly  by  land  on  to 
Portland,  for  the  purpose  of  stopping  at  all  the  towns,  and 
securing  rooms  for  exhibition.  I  obtained  public  buildings, 
courthouses,  and  churches,  free  of  charge.  After  one  day  at 

844 


ROBERT  SNOW 
BY  WILLIAM  DUNLAP 

From  the  collection  of  The  Brooklyn  Museum 


TRAVELLING  EXHIBITIONS  345 

Portland,  I  returned  by  land  to  Boston  again,  after  having 
given  Doherty  a  plan  of  operations  for  the  winter.  I  visited 
Newport  on  my  way  home,  and  arrived  safely,  and  with  money 
in  my  pocket,  to  my  family,  and  again  set  up  my  easel  for  por- 
traits; but  I  was  now  represented  as  being  employed  in  his- 
torical compositions,  and  for  that  reason  I  had  few  calls  for 
portraits.  Perhaps  stronger  reasons  existed  —  younger  candi- 
dates and  better  painters  were  in  the  market.  I  this  winter, 
that  of  1822-3,  painted  a  sketch  for  another  great  picture  of 
the  size  of  the  first.  The  subject  chosen  was  "The  Bearing  of 
the  Cross,"  in  which  I  introduced  a  crowd  of  figures  attending 
upon  the  victim;  but  they  are  not  "figures  to  let,"  but  the 
characters  of  the  evangelists,  most  of  whom  had  appeared  hi 
the  "Christ  Rejected."  Barabbas,  now  at  liberty,  occupies 
one  corner  —  the  principal  figure  is  sinking  under  the  cross  — 
the  centurion  is  ordering  the  seizure  of  Simon  the  Cyrenian, 
etc.  I  was  encouraged  to  proceed  with  this  study  by  the  suc- 
cess of  the  "Christ  Rejected,"  from  which  I  received  flattering 
accounts  and  comfortable  remittances  of  cash.  At  Portsmouth 
a  sermon  was  preached,  recommending  attention  to  the 
picture,  and  the  selectmen  advised  its  exhibition  on  a  Sunday 
evening.  My  visits  to  the  eastern  towns  had  facilitated  my 
agent's  operations,  and  he  was  successful. 

In  the  spring  of  1823  I  was  invited  by  James  Hackett, 
then  keeping  a  store  at  Utica,  to  come  to  that  place,  with 
assurances  of  his  engaging  some  work  for  my  pencil;  and 
early  in  April  I  proceeded,  after  a  short  stop  at  Albany,  from 
whence  I  took  some  letters  from  Samuel  M.  Hopkins  and 
Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  to  gentlemen  in  Utica,  and  arrived 
by  stage  in  due  time  at  Bagg's  hotel.  In  1815  I  had  boarded 
for  weeks  at  this  house,  then  acting  as  paymaster,  and  had 
seen  with  astonishment  the  growing  town  on  a  spot  where  in 
1787,  Governor  George  Clinton  made  his  treaty  hi  the  wilder- 
ness with  the  Six  Nations.  Even  in  1815  a  rich  population  and 
flourishing  villages  surrounded  Utica,  and  extended  west  to 
Lake  Erie,  through  the  thriving  towns  of  Geneva,  Canan- 
daigua  and  Batavia  to  Buffalo  (then  in  ruins  as  burnt  by  the 


346  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

English);  but  now  eight  years  had  increased  Utica  to  a  city, 
and  its  public  buildings,  courthouse,  banks,  churches  and 
hotels,  filled  me  with  almost  as  much  surprise  as  I  felt  on  my 
first  visit.  Mr.  Hackett,  since  so  well  known  as  a  comedian, 
received  me  cordially,  and  I  found  old  acquaintances  in  James 
and  Walter  Cochran,  and  made  lasting  friends  in  J.  H.  Lothrop, 
Esq.,  cashier  of  the  bank  of  Ontario,  E.  Wetmore  (since  his 
son-in-law),  Mr.  Walker  and  his  son  Thomas,  and  in  short 
during  a  spring  and  summer's  residence  became  as  much  at 
home  in  Utica  as  I  had  been  at  Norfolk.  I  painted  a  number  of 
portraits.  I  left  Utica  for  four  days  to  visit  Saratoga,  and 
contract  with  a  builder  for  an  edifice  sufficient  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  the  "Christ  Rejected."  I  left  the  stage  on  the  post- 
road  and  walked  to  Balston,  where  having  slept,  I  walked  to 
Saratoga  Springs  before  early  breakfast,  accomplished  my  busi- 
ness and  proceeded  on  foot  to  Schenectady  —  next  day  returned 
by  stage  to  Utica.  In  July  my  wife  met  me  in  Albany  at  Samuel 
M.  Hopkins',  and  returned  with  me  to  Utica,  where  we  took 
board  with  Mrs.  Skinner,  a  sister  of  my  late  friend  Dr.  E.  H. 
Smith.  Weir  was  in  Albany  exhibiting  his  picture  of  Paul  at 
Athens  without  success.  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence's  "  West  "  was 
sent  to  Philadelphia  and  exhibited  with  a  loss  of  more  than 
$100;  Sully 's  "Capuchin  Chapel"  lost  by  its  exhibition  at 
Saratoga  Springs,  as  did  my  "Christ  Rejected";  the  last,  $50. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  having  some  taste  for  the  pictur- 
esque and  more  for  rambling,  I  did  not  omit  the  opportunity 
neighborhood  gave  me  of  visiting  Trenton  Falls,  to  which 
place  I  rode  once  and  once  walked,  stopping  a  day  in  clamber- 
ing rocks  and  making  sketches.  The  village  of  Trenton  I 
had  visited  as  a  paymaster  in  1815.  I  now  found  with  one  of 
its  inhabitants  a  good  portrait  by  Copley. 

The  last  of  August  my  wife  left  me  to  return  home,  and 
about  the  middle  of  September  Doherty  arrived  with  my  pic- 
ture, which  was  put  up  for  exhibition  in  the  courthouse.  The 
exhibition  hi  Utica  yielded  in  three  weeks  $184.75,  giving  a 
profit  after  paying  the  expenses  and  transportation  to  Utica, 
of  $124.75. 


347 

My  friend  Dr.  M.  Payne  had  removed  from  Montreal  to 
Geneva,  and  requested  me  to  send  on  the  picture  to  that  place. 
I  accordingly  directed  a  building  to  be  erected  for  it,  and  in 
the  meantime  sent  it  to  Auburn.  On  the  18th  of  October,  1823, 
I  left  my  friends  of  Utica  and  arrived  at  my  house  in  New 
York  on  the  21st. 

In  December  I  took  a  painting  room  at  the  corner  of  Nassau 
and  Pine  Streets,  but  sitters  were  shy.  The  "Christ  Rejected" 
was  still  successful,  and  I  employed  a  part  of  the  winter  of 
1823-4,  in  painting  a  scene  from  James  Fenimore  Cooper's 
"  Spy."  I  had  recently  become  acquainted  with  him,  and  ac- 
quaintance has  ripened  into  friendship. 

On  the  23d  of  February  1824,  I  purchased  a  large  unpre- 
pared cloth,  intended  as  a  floor  cloth,  and  having  access  to 
the  garret  of  the  house  in  which  I  had  my  atelier,  I  nailed  it 
to  the  floor,  and  gave  it  several  coats  of  white  lead,  which 
being  dry,  I  proceeded  to  outline  the  "Bearing  of  the  Cross" 
from  the  sketch  previously  made.  So  high  and  so  low  was  the 
commencement  of  this  my  second  big  picture. 

This  winter  I  became  a  member  ot  a  club  which  called  itself 
the  Lunch  —  members  admitted  by  ballot,  one  black-ball  ex- 
cluding the  candidate.  Of  the  members  I  recollect  G.  C.  Ver- 
planck,  J.  F.  Cooper,  Halleck,  Anthony  Bleeker,  Charles 
King,  James  Renwick,  James  Kent,  J.  Griscom,  Brevoort, 
Bryant  and  Morse,  as  of  my  acquaintance  before  and  since. 

About  the  beginning  of  May  I  hired  a  building  with  an  en- 
trance from  Broadway,  and  prepared  it  for  my  picture,  which 
now  approached  New  York,  and  on  the  21st  opened  it  for  exhi- 
bition. The  attention  paid  to  it  so  far  exceeded  my  expecta- 
tion, that  I  was  encouraged  to  proceed  with  the  "  Bearing  of 
the  Cross."  The  receipts  were  in  fourteen  weeks  $650.  Mr. 
TrumbulPs  fourth  picture  for  the  government  was  exhibiting 
part  of  the  time,  and  his  friend  Stone  of  the  Commercial  Ad- 
vertiser, who  represented  it  as  a  wonder,  said  it  did  not  pay 
the  room  rent.  The  American  Academy  had  its  exhibition 
during  May  and  June. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  put  up  my  second  picture  in  my 


348  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

garret  in  Leonard  Street,  but  on  removing  the  "  Christ  Re- 
jected "  from  Broadway,  I  put  the  "  Bearing  of  the  Cross  "  up 
in  its  place,  as  a  far  better  light  to  paint  on  it.  I  exhibited  it 
in  this  place,  but  not  with  the  success  of  the  first.  The 
"  Christ  Rejected  "  was  exhibited  in  the  gallery  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Fine  Arts  on  shares,  and  yielded  me  profit. 

In  November  I  visited  Philadelphia,  where  Trumbull's 
"  Resignation  of  Washington  "  was  exhibiting  free  of  rent  in 
the  State  House,  and  yielding  no  profit.  My  errand  at  this 
time  was  to  find  a  place  for  putting  up  the  "Bearing  of  the 
Cross,"  which  was  done  by  engaging  Sully  and  Earl's  gallery 
on  shares. 

To  paint  exhibition  pictures  and  show  them  was  the  busi- 
ness of  my  life  at  this  time;  and  from  Philadelphia  the  "Bear- 
ing of  the  Cross"  was  sent  with  Doherty  to  Washington;  to 
which  place  I  went,  partly  to  make  arrangements  for  the  pic- 
ture at  Baltimore,  and  partly  to  settle  my  paymaster's  ac- 
counts —  the  treasury  having  made  me  defaulter  to  the  amount 
of  some  thousand  dollars;  but  on  investigation  the  debt  was 
brought  down  to  one  dollar,  and  that  proceeded  from  an  error 
in  addition. 

I  found  at  Gadsby's  Hotel  Causici  the  sculptor,  and  in  the 
capitol  Rembrandt  Peale's  painting  of  Washington  on  horse- 
back, with  Lafayette,  etc.,  at  Yorktown  —  the  worst  of  his 
pictures.  I  visited  the  capitol  with  Messrs.  Cambreleng  and 
Van  Rensselaer.  I  saw  Trumbull's  picture  of  the  surrender  of 
Burgoyne  for  the  first  time,  having  been  at  Norfolk  when  he 
exhibited  it.  I  found  it  better  than  the  "  Resignation,"  but 
can  say  no  more  in  its  praise.  The  whole  set  was  in  bad  odor. 
C.  B.  King  agreed  to  exhibit  my  picture  in  his  gallery.  I 
visited  my  friend  Major  Vande venter,  at  Georgetown,  and  the 
place  brought  vivid  reminiscences  of  the  year  1807.  I  had 
formerly  painted  pictures  of  the  major  and  his  wife;  but  his 
picture  did  not  satisfy,  and  I  now  took  the  opportunity  of 
painting  another  for  him,  and  staid  some  days  with  his  most 
amiable  and  exemplary  family. 

A  distinguished  member  of   Congress  told  me  that  the 


REMBRANDT  PEALE'S  "WASHINGTON"          349 

Custises,  the  relatives  of  Washington,  had  told  him  that  they 
did  not  consider  Peale's  certificate  picture  like  the  general  at 
.any  period  of  his  life,  yet,  he  continued,  "they  signed  Peale's 
certificate,  stating  that  it  is  the  true  and  only  likeness  of  Wash- 
ington." He  then  mentioned  a  distinguished  senator,  whose 
name  was  appended  to  the  same  certificate,  who  told  him  that 
it  was  not  a  likeness  in  his  opinion.  On  his  reminding  him  of 
his  signature,  the  reply  was,  "I  could  not  deny  the  man."  So 
much  for  certificates  and  for  the  love  of  truth !  This  conversa- 
tion passed  as  we  stood  before  Peale's  picture  of  "Washington 
at  Yorktown,"  which  was,  as  it  deserved,  condemned.  The 
dishonorable  and  immoral  practice  of  certifying  to  falsehoods, 
or  to  that  of  which  we  are  ignorant,  is  not  confined  to  America. 
I  found  at  Washington  a  Scotchman  who  told  the  Yankees 
that  he  could  cure  all  diseases  by  a  steam  bath  impregnated 
with  herbs.  He  knew  each  person's  disease  by  smelling  the 
patient;  that  he  had  left  four  agents  to  cure  the  people  at  home, 
and  had  come  with  one  assistant  to  cure  us.  He  was  furnished 
with  due  certificates  signed  by  the  lords  and  commons  of  Eng- 
land, and  at  their  head  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  York. 

I  called  with  my  friend  Vandeventer  on  General  Jackson, 
and  was  pleased  with  my  reception  and  his  manners.  My 
friend,  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  visited  Washington  at  this 
time,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  his  company,  and  that  of  some 
of  his  former  naval  associates  on  my  return.  I  think  he  will 
remember  the  story  of  the  Irish  sportsman  rabbit  hunting, 
who,  seeing  a  donkey  looking  over  a  hedge  swore  he  had 
found  the  father  of  all  rabbits.  On  his  journey,  February 
1825, 1  became  acquainted  with  Robert  Gilmor,  Esq.  of  Balti- 
more, and  saw  his  choice  collection  of  pictures.  On  the  six- 
teenth I  arrived,  after  a  very  fatiguing  journey,  at  my  house, 
and  found  my  family  well;  but  in  a  few  days  was  confined  to 
my  bed  by  illness  for  ten  days,  and  to  my  chamber  many 
more  —  a  lamentable  beginning  of  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  my 
age. 

My  next  exertion  as  an  artist  was  the  composition  of  a  third 
picture,  connected  with  the  crucifixion,  which  I  called  "Cal- 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

vary."  This  winter  and  spring  I  finished  the  sketch  in  oil, 
thirty  inches  by  twenty-five  —  probably  my  best  composition. 

Before  transferring  it  to  the  large  canvas,  I  painted  from 
nature  the  principal  figures  and  groups  separately.  I  had 
none  of  that  facility  which  attends  the  adept  in  drawing,  and 
now  felt  the  penalty  —  one  of  the  penalties  of  my  idleness  and 
folly  when  I  had  the  Royal  Academy  of  England  at  my  com- 
mand, and  the  advice  of  the  best  historical  painter  of  the  age 
always  ready  for  my  instruction  —  and  both  neglected.  I  now, 
and  for  some  years  before,  studied  the  casts  from  the  antique 
and  unproved,  but  my  drawing  remained  deficient.  I  had 
neglected  "the  spring  of  life,"  and  it  never  returns. 

When  studying  the  casts  in  the  gallery  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  I  was  very  much  struck  by  the  defi- 
ciency apparent  in  those  of  Canova  when  compared  with  the 
antique.  I  was  mortified  to  see  that  the  man  who  was  called 
the  greatest  genius  the  modern  world  had  produced  as  a 
sculptor,  was  in  my  estimation  a  pigmy,  and  I  felt,  until  some 
years  after,  when  I  saw  the  Mercury  of  Thorwaldsden  in  the 
gallery  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design,  that  it  was  in  vain 
for  a  modern  to  emulate  the  statuary  of  antiquity. 

In  April  I  made  a  journey  to  Baltimore  —  received  my 
"  Bearing  of  the  Cross  "  from  Rubens  Peale,  and  had  it  trans- 
ported to  Philadelphia,  where  it  was  put  up  in  Sully  &  Earl's 
gallery  —  it  proved  an  unprofitable  exhibition;  but  I  passed 
the  first  week  of  May  very  pleasantly  with  Sully  and  other 
friends. 

From  the  23d  to  the  28th  of  May  I  made  a  pleasant  excursion 
to  New  London  and  Norwich,  to  direct  a  young  man  in  the 
mode  of  exhibiting  my  "Christ  Rejected"  in  those  places  and 
further  east.  Returning  home,  I  found  some  portrait  painting 
awaiting  me,  and  continued  my  studies  for  the  "Calvary." 
Warned  by  the  bad  effect  of  my  floor-cloth  experiment  (for  I 
never  got  a  good  surface  for  the  "Bearing  of  the  Cross"),  I 
had  a  cloth  prepared  at  McCauley's  manufactory,  Philadel- 
phia, which  proved  satisfactory.  I  likewise  ordered  a  canvas, 
twenty  feet  by  ten,  having  determined  to  make  a  picture  from 


351 

the  etched  outline  of  West's  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,"  tak- 
ing, as  my  guide,  the  printed  description;  and  in  the  summer 
of  1825  was  busily  employed  in  studies  for  the  "Calvary" 
and  in  painting  the  above-named  picture. 

Having  determined  to  finish  my  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse" 
before  the  "Calvary,"  I  exerted  myself  for  that  purpose,  and 
making  an  arrangement  with  the  directors  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts  for  the  use  of  the  gallery  at  twenty-five 
dollars  a  week,  I  opened  the  picture  to  the  public  in  two 
months  and  twenty-six  days  from  the  commencement  of  the 
outline.  This  exhibition  was  successful,  and  my  picture  was 
only  taken  down  to  make  way  for  David's  "Coronation  of 
Bonaparte." 

In  November  I  became  acquainted  with  the  person  and 
paintings  of  Mr.  T.  Cole,  since  so  well  known  as  the  celebrated 
landscape  painter.  I  did  the  best  I  could  to  make  the  public 
acquainted  with  the  extraordinary  merit  of  his  pictures  even 
then,  and  it  is  among  the  few  of  my  good  deeds.  He  has  proved 
more  than  I  anticipated,  and  I  have  been  repaid  by  his  friend- 
ship and  gratified  by  his  success.  Mr.  Trumbull  attracted 
my  attention  to  Mr.  Cole,  by  the  most  liberal  praises  of  his 
painting,  and  expressions  of  surprise  at  the  taste  and  skill  he 
had  manifested. 

In  January  1826, 1  had  the  "  Bearing  of  the  Cross  "  on  ex- 
hibition at  Charleston,  the  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse"  at 
Norfolk,  and  the  "  Christ  Rejected  "  at  Washington. 

It  may  be  amusing  to  my  readers  to  see  a  specimen  of  the 
literary  talent  of  one  of  my  agents,  an  honest  old  man,  who 
was  indebted  to  his  native  country,  England,  for  his  education. 
It  is  a  letter  dated  Pitsburg  (meaning  Petersburg  in  Virginia), 
March  15th,  1826. 

"The  proceeds  of  the  painting  was  110  dollars  in  Richmond 
—  it  wos  very  bad  weather  all  the  time  —  I  Cold  not  Geat 
the  Church  in  Pitsburge,  it  wos  sold  to  the  Freemasons  for  a 
Log,  and  it  wos  Poold  all  to  Peasses  in  the  in  Side,  I  have  a 
Ball  Room  in  the  sentre  of  the  Town,  it  is  a  much  better 
Plass.  I  open'd  on  Mounday  Eavning  at  6  o'clock,  at  seven  it 


3.H  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

began  to  rain.  I  receive  $1.50;  Tuesday  $17.50  Wensday  $6.25 
Thursday  at  1  o'clock  $6.25"  the  time  he  closed  his  epistle 
"I  leave  year  on  Sunday  for  Norfork  25  —  P.  S.  I  pay  $1.50 
Per  Day  four  the  room  —  Your  Humbel  Sarvent  - 

This,  beside  being  a  literary  curiosity,  will  give  the  reader 
some  notions  of  the  mode  of  exhibiting  from  town  to  town, 
and  the  contingencies  upon  which  profit  depends.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  the  eloquence  of  this  showman  did  not  add  to 
the  attraction  of  my  picture;  but  I  have  known  some  of  the 
tribe,  who,  by  management  and  an  oily  tongue,  have  made 
money  for  their  employers  and  for  themselves. 

In  February  I  had  recurrence  of  abscess  with  attendant 
illness,  an  evil  which  has  occurred  at  intervals,  and  in  my  mind 
is  traced  to  that  I  have  recorded  of  my  early  days  in  London. 
On  the  19th  I  find  in  my  journal,  "I  this  day  complete  the 
sixtieth  year  of  my  age;  physically  worse  —  am  I  morally 
better?  As  a  man,  I  hope  I  am  a  little  improved;  as  an  artist, 
more.  My  health  worse,  my  fortune  a  little  better  by  the  in- 
crease of  income  from  the  works  of  my  pencil." 

I  was  this  winter  anxiously  employed  in  painting  on  the 
"  Calvary,"  in  an  apartment  granted  to  me  by  the  corporation 
of  the  city. 

At  this  time  the  National  Academy  of  Design  was  created, 
composed  of  and  governed  by  artists  only.  I  became  an  active 
member,  being  elected  an  academician.  In  the  spring  I  con- 
tinued to  paint  studies  from  nature,  for  the  "Calvary,"  and 
likewise  painted  several  portraits.  In  the  month  of  May  the 
National  Academy  of  Design  opened  their  first  annual  exhibi- 
tion, which  has  increased  in  interest  yearly. 

About  this  time  I  sent  my  picture  of  "Christ  Rejected"  to 
the  far  West,  and  it  produced  profit  and  compliments;  but  it 
likewise  produced  a  letter  which  I  will  lay  before  the  reader, 
as  a  proof  of  the  effect  which  a  picture  may  produce  in  exciting 
ambition,  and  of  the  kind  of  stuff  ambition  may  be  made  of. 
"Urbana,  Ohio,  Champaign  county,  Dec.  30th,  1826.  Mr. 
William  Dunlap,  I  write  my  respects  to  you  through  the 
influence  of  the  gentleman  that  had  your  painting  through  this 


EXHIBITION  IN  ALBANY  353 

country.  I  informed  him  that  I  was  an  artist  of  that  kind 
also;  am  in  low  circumstances;  am  20  years  old,  and  have  a 
great  genius  for  historical  painting;  and  he  informed  me  to 
write  to  you,  informing  you  on  the  subject  of  painting.  He 
told  me  that  I  ought  to  make  some  specimens  of  my  work, 
and  if  it  would  justify,  I  could  go  to  the  National  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts.  I  wish  you  to  write  to  me  on  the  subject  if  you 
please.  The  citizens  of  this  place  thinks,  with  tuition,  I  would 
make  a  superior  to  any  artist  they  had  ever  saw.  I  went  40 
miles  to  see  your  painting,  and  it  creates  a  new  feeling  in  me. 
Nothing  more  at  present,  but  remain  your  humble  servant. 
H.  H." 

I  saw  two  pictures  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Samuel  Maverick, 
said  to  be  Hogarth's;  one  of  them  has  a  drummer  which 
would  not  dishonor  the  great  painter.  These  pictures  were 
brought  to  this  country  by  Mr.  Charles  Caton,  himself  a 
painter  of  merit,  and  were  painted  by  him.  The  latter  part 
of  this  month  I  passed  at  Albany,  having  taken  my  "Death 
on  the  Pale  Horse"  thither,  and  being  enabled,  by  the  polite- 
ness of  Mr.  Stevenson  the  mayor,  Doctor  Beck,  Mr.  Ganse- 
voort,  and  other  gentlemen,  to  have  it  exhibited  in  the  great 
hall  of  the  Academy,  where  the  effect  was  far  beyond  what  I 
had  seen  from  it  elsewhere.  Mr.  Croswell  advised  and  assisted 
me  in  the  most  friendly  manner  in  the  accomplishment  of  my 
object. 

I  resided  at  this  time  with  my  good  friend  Cruttenden,  and 
the  conversations  at  his  table  were  ofttimes  amusing.  We 
had  with  us  a  rough  judge  from  one  of  the  western  counties, 
who  was  particularly  annoyed  by  a  young  man  of  New  York, 
of  rather  much  pretensions  to  multifarious  knowledge.  Upon 
the  dandy's  talking,  with  a  dictatorial  air,  of  Belzoni  and  the 
Orrery  that  he  had  discovered  in  an  Egyptian  pyramid,  the 
old  man  lost  all  patience  and  broke  out  with  "Belzoni  is  not 
so  ignorant  as  to  talk  of  an  Orrery  in  an  Egyptian  pyramid. 
No,  sir,  you  will  not  find  the  word  in  his  writings.  The  word  is 
modern  —  a  name  given  to  a  modern  invention,  in  honor  to 
Lord  Orrery.  You  mean,  if  you  mean  anything,  the  Zodiac." 


854  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

The  young  man  walked  off,  and  the  judge  supposing  him  to  be 
an  Albanian,  turned  to  me,  "You  must  not  expect  anything 
from  this  stupid  place.  There  are  not  three  men  in  it  that  ever 
thought.  I'll  tell  you  an  anecdote.  —  At  a  time  of  yellow  fever 
in  New  York,  two  miniature  painters,  Trott  and  Tisdale,  came 
to  this  city;  they  took  a  room  and  painted  some  heads.  This 
was  about  the  year  '96.  It  was  a  novelty,  and  the  gentlemen 
of  Albany  visited  the  painters  and  were  pleased  with  them; 
and  on  occasion  of  a  ball  they  were  getting  up,  they  sent  them 
tickets  of  invitation.  But  before  the  ball  took  place  they  had 
time  to  reflect  and  consult;  and  the  result  was,  that  a  note  was 
written  to  the  painters  to  say  that  the  gentlemen  of  Albany 
must  recall  the  invitation,  as,  according  to  the  rules,  no  me- 
chanics could  be  admitted."  I  insert  this  freely,  because  of  the 
known  intelligence  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  city  where  our  legis- 
lature convenes,  our  highest  courts  sit,  and  many  of  our  judges 
and  first  men  reside,  who  are  accustomed  to  think  and  act  with 
propriety.  "Sir,"  he  continued,  "I  saw  both  the  notes  myself," 
which  were  probably  from  shopkeepers  or  their  clerks,  whose 
knowledge  might  not  rise  higher  in  the  scale  than  such  notes 
indicate. 

From  Albany,  where  I  received  profit  from  my  exhibition, 
and  pleasure  from  my  friends,  I  proceeded  to  Troy,  and  had 
the  picture  exhibited  with  profit;  and  thence  to  Utica,  where 
I  found  a  man  apparently  equal  to  the  charge  of  my  picture; 
which  was  exhibited  profitably,  and  sent  on  westward.  In 
Utica  I  found  great  change  —  enormous  growth  —  some  of  my 
friends  gone  from  thence,  and  some  removed  by  death;  but 
Lothrop  and  his  charming  family,  with  many  others  still 
ready  to  add  to  my  pleasure  and  welfare.  I  painted  at  this 
time  several  portraits. 

At  Syracuse,  a  new  place,  I  had  my  picture  put  up  in  an 
unfinished  church,  where  it  did  but  little,  and  I  sent  it  on  to 
Auburn  and  passed  on  to  Geneva.  After  a  few  days  I  went  to 
Canandaigua  and  to  Rochester.  I  will  copy  a  passage  from  my 
journal  —  "When  I  saw  Utica  in  1815,  I  was  astonished; 
in  1823  I  admired  its  growth  and  again  in  1826.  Syracuse, 


355 

Auburn,  and  Geneva,  are  all  causes  of  admiration  from  their 
prosperity,  as  is  Canandaigua,  but  all  sink  into  insignificance 
in  comparison  with  Rochester,  when  the  time  of  its  first  settle- 
ment is  considered.  In  1815  it  was  unknown:  now  the  canal, 
bridges,  churches,  court  house,  hotels,  all  upon  a  great  scale, 
excite  my  astonishment  anew  at  the  wonders  of  the  west." 
I  viewed  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee  River,  and  soon  after  em- 
barked in  the  canal  boat,  and  passed  many  flourishing  villages 
to  Lockport,  where  the  excavations  for  the  canal  are  of  a 
magnitude  to  excite  the  surprise  of  the  untravelled.  The  canal 
brought  me  into  Tonawanda  Creek,  where  another  scene  of  a 
milder  aspect  is  presented,  and  I  soon  saw  the  great  Niagara. 
One  of  my  pictures  was  on  exhibition  at  Buffalo,  and  I  ordered 
it  on  to  Detroit.  In  the  towns  I  had  passed  I  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  picture  of  "Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,"  which  was 
to  follow. 

Buffalo,  which  I  had  left  in  1815  a  desolated  village,  I  now 
found  a  large  and  thriving  town,  with  splendid  hotels,  large 
churches,  a  theatre,  a  noble  court  house,  showing  enterprise 
and  prosperity;  while  steamboats  and  other  vessels  indicate 
the  commerce  of  the  inland  sea.  Rain  induced  me  to  return 
without  visiting  again  the  Falls  of  Niagara:  I  have  ever  re- 
gretted the  omission.  In  the  canal  boat  I  retraced  my  way 
home.  I  landed  at  a  village  called  Lyons,  slept  and  proceeded 
by  stage  to  Geneva,  thence  to  Auburn,  and  at  Syracuse  em- 
barked on  the  canal  for  Utica,  where  I  arrived  on  the  21st  of 
October.  A  manuscript  was  here  lent  me,  which  I  read  with 
interest,  written  on  the  Bible  and  New  Testament,  by  John 
Q.  Adams,  as  instructions  to  his  son,  by  this  indefatigable 
man.  Extract,  respecting  the  latter:-  "If  it  be  objected, 
that  the  principle  of  benevolence  towards  our  enemies,  and 
forgiveness  of  injuries,  may  be  found,  not  only  in  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  but  even  in  some  of  the  heathen  writers, 
and  particularly  in  the  Discourses  of  Socrates,  I  answer,  that 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  of  the 
rewards  and  punishments  of  a  future  state.  The  doctrine  was 
not  more  of  a  discovery  than  the  precept.  But  the  connection 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

with  each  other,  the  authority  with  which  they  were  taught, 
and  the  miracles  by  which  they  were  enforced,  belong  ex- 
clusively to  the  mission  of  Christ." 

At  Utica  I  again  was  employed  to  paint  several  portraits; 
receiving,  as  usual,  the  kind  attentions  of  my  friends,  and  in- 
dulging my  propensity  to  ramble  about  the  neighborhood. 
—  On  the  4th  of  November  I  left  Utica,  and  on  the  8th  was 
happy  with  my  family. 

During  this  winter  of  1826-7  I  painted  on  my  picture  of 
Calvary,  but  had  part  of  my  time  occupied  by  an  engage- 
ment with  the  managers  of  the  Bowery  Theatre  to  write 
occasionally  for  them.  As  the  subject  of  filling  the  vacant  pan- 
els of  the  rotunda,  at  Washington,  was  at  this  tune  agitated 
in  Congress,  I  wrote  to  G.  C.  Verplanck  on  the  subject.  The 
following  is  an  answer  to  my  letter.  —  "Washington,  Jan.  29, 
1827.  Dear  Sir :  I  do  not  know,  at  this  moment,  how  I  can  be 
useful  in  furthering  your  views.  The  whole  subject  of  decorat- 
ing, as  well  as  finishing  the  capitol,  is  now  in  the  hands  of  a 
committee,  to  which  I  do  not  belong.  General  Van  Rensselaer 
is  the  chairman.  I  understand  that  they  are  very  anxious  to 
press  the  completion  of  the  building;  and  Mr.  Bulfinch,  the 
architect,  complains  much  of  the  precipitancy.  If  so,  probably 
they  will  recommend  so  large  an  appropriation  to  the  archi- 
tect as  to  leave  little  for  other  artists.  As  soon  as  they  make 
their  report  I  will  send  you  a  copy. 

"Besides  the  four  vacancies  hi  the  rotunda,  I  have  been 
urging  the  propriety  of  placing  some  works  of  art  connected 
with  the  history,  or  at  least  with  the  scenery  of  the  country, 
in  the  large  room  of  the  President's  house,  which  is  now  filling 
up.  Its  size  (80  or  90  feet  by  50),  its  height,  etc.,  fit  it  ad- 
mirably for  the  purpose;  and  it  would  be  honorable  to  the 
nation  to  apply  it  thus,  instead  of  filling  it  merely  with  mirrors, 
curtains,  and  chandeliers,  like  a  tavern  ball  room,  or  at  best, 
a  city  drawing  room  on  a  large  scale.  I  am,  etc." 

A  member  of  the  Senate  wrote  to  me  —  "  Col.  Trumbull  is 
here,  and  has  been  all  whiter  seeking  to  be  employed  to  fill 
the  vacant  panels."  About  this  time  the  letters  written  by 


CURIOUS  EXPERIENCES  357 

Trumbull  to  the  President  (for  which  see  his  biography)  were 
published  by  the  directors  of  the  American  Academy,  and  the 
originals,  by  unanimous  vote,  deposited  in  the  archives. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1826-7  I  not  only  painted 
on  my  "Calvary,"  but  put  up  and  painted  on  the  "Bearing 
of  the  Cross,"  and  finished  several  portraits;  one  of  which, 
Thomas  Eddy,  was  for  the  governors  of  the  New  York  Hos- 
pital; who  afterwards  ordered  a  copy,  to  place  in  the  Asylum 
for  the  Insane,  an  institution  owing  its  being  to  Mr.  Eddy.  — 
Several  copies  of  this  portrait  were  ordered. 

I  experienced,  during  the  winter  of  1827-8,  a  great  diminu- 
tion of  profit  from  my  exhibition  pictures,  which  were  travel- 
ling east  and  west.  The  incidents  attending  them  would  fill 
a  volume.  At  one  place  a  picture  would  be  put  up  in  a  church, 
and  a  sermon  preached  in  recommendation  of  it:  in  another, 
the  people  would  be  told  from  the  pulpit  to  avoid  it,  as  blas- 
phemous; and  in  another  the  agent  is  seized  for  violating  the 
law  taxing  puppet  shows,  after  permission  given  to  exhibit; 
and  when  he  is  on  his  way  to  another  town,  he  is  brought  back 
by  constables,  like  a  criminal,  and  obliged  to  pay  the  tax,  and 
their  charges  for  making  him  a  prisoner.  —  Here  the  agent  of 
a  picture  would  be  encouraged  by  the  first  people  of  the  place, 
and  treated  by  the  clergy  as  if  he  were  a  saint;  and  there 
received  as  a  mountebank,  and  insulted  by  a  mob.  Such  is  the 
variety  of  our  manners,  and  the  various  degrees  of  refinement  in 
our  population.  On  the  whole,  the  reception  of  my  pictures 
was  honorable  to  me  and  to  my  countrymen. 

In  February,  1828,  I  was  introduced  to  Horatio  Greenough, 
who  will  occupy  a  distinguished  page  in  this  work.  About  this 
time  I  painted,  and  gave  to  James  Hackett  a  full  length,  about 
17  inches  by  12,  of  himself  as  Jonathan.  In  April  I  wasted 
some  time  in  studying  lithography  and  making  experiments  — 
I  say  wasted,  because  I  did  not  succeed. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1828,  I  opened  for  exhibition  my  long- 
wrought-on  picture  of  "Calvary."  I  will  indulge  myself  by 
extracts  from  an  essay  which  appeared  in  the  "Mirror,"  writ- 
ten by  a  stranger  to  me,  recently  from  South  Carolina. 


358  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"This  picture  is  eighteen  by  fourteen  feet.  The  subject  is 
the  moment  before  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  and  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  sacrifice.  How  far  this  great  and  truly  poetical 
design  has  been  brought  into  life  and  being  on  the  canvas,  it 
is  for  the  spectator  to  feel  and  judge.  The  first  impression  on 
the  eye  is  the  living  mass,  the  amphitheatre  of  figures,  that  sur- 
rounds the  base  of  the  mount,  and  gradually  ascends,  thickens, 
and  fades  into  distant  perspective.  The  eye  then  retraces  its 
progress,  and  pauses  on  more  distinct  and  separate  impres- 
sions, dwelling  with  delight  on  the  beautiful  grouping,  and 
classically  correct  costume  of  tjie  multitude  assembled  to  wit- 
ness the  death  of  the  great  Author  of  Christianity. 

"But  it  is  not  true,  that  'the  eye  of  the  spectator  is  first 
attracted  to  the  principal  figure  —  that  of  the  Redeemer  —  who 
stands  near  the  top  of  the  mount.'  Had  this  'attraction'  ex- 
isted; had  this  effect  been  produced:  the  picture  would  have 
been  more  complete  in  its  epic  purpose.  On  the  contrary,  'the 
eye  is  attracted,'  instantly,  and  instinctively,  to  the  groups  in 
the  foreground;  the  striking  and  passionate  attitudes  of  the 
first  followers  of  Jesus;  and  the  expression  of  ecclesiastical 
persecution  against  the  reformer,  which  burns  among  the  priests 
and  Pharisees.  The  'principal'  figures  are,  therefore,  the 
multitude;  and  Jesus,  in  the  background,  is  but  auxiliary  to 
the  great  effects. 

"The  four  figures  on  the  left,  consisting  of  Mary  the  mother, 
Mary  Magdalen,  Mary  the  daughter  of  Cleophas,  and  John, 
compose  a  group  of  the  deepest  interest.  Abstract  them  from 
the  picture,  and,  in  themselves,  they  constitute  an  eloquent 
commentary  on  the  subject.  The  strong  expression  of  grief, 
the  grace  of  form,  the  intellectual  beauty  which  distinguishes 
the  females  we  have  never  seen  exceeded. 

"The  high  priest,  in  the  next  group,  ought,  perhaps,  to  be 
placed  nearer  his  victim;  but  it  is  a  classical  and  finished 
figure. 

"On  the  right,  the  harmony  of  this  beautiful  picture  is  sus- 
tained with  equal,  if  not  superior  effect.  The  female  whose 
exquisite  neck  is  presented  to  the  spectator,  and  the  wife  of 


"HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  THEATRE"       359 

Pilate  'in  costly  robes,'  are  beautifully  delineated.  We  then 
ascend  the  hill,  pass  on  from  object  to  object,  from  the  Pharisee 
disputing  with  Joseph,  to  Peter  and  Barabbas;  Simon  support- 
ing the  cross,  the  Roman  soldier,  women,  and  other  spectators 
fill  this  portion  of  the  picture.  On  the  extreme  right  is  seen  a 
female  with  two  lovely  girls.  The  Asiatic  guards  which  occupy 
this  division  of  the  foreground,  are  also  in  strict  and  classical 
accordance." 

The  reader  must  not  think  that  I  consider  this  praise  as 
just.  Although  the  picture  is  my  best  composition  and  most 
finished,  it  is,  in  my  opinion  at  present,  very  defective.  Writers 
who  describe  pictures  are  generally  ignorant  of  true  merit,  and 
partial  in  their  criticisms  or  eulogiums. 

I  had  at  this  period  commenced  my  "  History  of  the  Ameri- 
can Theatre,"  which  eventually  yielded  me  some  remuneration, 
both  from  the  publishers  here  and  in  England,  but  of  course 
occupied  much  of  my  time;  and  I  had  before  this  learned  that 
time  was  my  only  property,  and  the  proper  use  of  it  the  only 
support  of  my  family. 

My  income  was  at  this  time  very  low.  I  had  contracted 
debts  to  support  me  while  painting  my  last  large  picture.  I 
sold  to  Mr.  Eickholtz  of  Philadelphia,  my  lay  figure  which  was 
one  of  the  best,  and  purchased  for  me  from  the  maker  in  Paris. 

In  June  I  went  to  Philadelphia  to  make  arrangements  for 
exhibiting  the  "Calvary"  in  that  city,  which  was  done  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  through  the  liberality  of 
the  Hon.  Joseph  Hopkinson,  president  of  that  institution.  It 
was  exhibited  during  the  months  of  October  and  November, 
1828,  occupying  —  the  more  the  pity!  though  for  a  short  time, 
the  place  of  Allston's  great  picture.  The  profit  was  little.  I 
had  in  the  meantime  an  exhibition  open  in  New  York,  which 
yielded  something,  and  I  painted  a  few  portraits.  In  October 
the  "Bearing  of  the  Cross"  was  sent  on  a  tour  to  the  west. 
In  the  winter  the  "Calvary"  was  exhibited  in  Baltimore,  but 
none  of  these  efforts  were  successful  to  any  extent.  I  received 
something  from  successful  dramas  at  the  Bowery  Theatre,  and 
painted  during  the  winter,  principally  after  the  commence- 


860  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

ment  of  1829,  several  portraits.  From  my  journal  I  extract  an 
entry,  not  made  for  the  public  eye:  — 

"Thursday,   19th  of  February,   1829  —  1  am  this  day  63 
years  of  age,  active,  and  I  think  stronger  than  a  year  ago.    I 
believe  I  am  improving  as  an  artist.  As  a  man,  I  hope  I  am  — 
but  it  is  little!  May  God  receive  my  thanks  for  his  blessings, 
and  may  his  will  be  done!" 

In  March  my  "Calvary"  was  exhibiting  in  Washington 
with  praise  and  profit.  I  painted  a  portrait  of  Samuel  S. 
Conant,  which  led  to  a  visit  of  some  profit  and  much  pleasure 
in  a  region  new  to  me  —  Vermont.  About  this  time  the  Com- 
mon Council  notified  all  the  occupants  of  the  old  almshouse 
to  vacate  on,  or  before  first  of  August  next.  A  very  pleasant 
club  was  formed,  of  which  I  remained  a  member  until  it 
expired,  like  all  mortal  things.  It  was  called  the  Sketch  Club. 
The  members  met  at  each  other's  houses,  sketched  and  con- 
versed principally  on  art,  took  refreshments,  and  unfortunately, 
sometimes  suppers.  The  National  Academicians  were  most  of 
them  members,  as  were  many  of  my  literary  friends. 

In  July  I  had  a  severe  recurrence  of  the  disease  which  has 
pursued  me  through  life.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  same  month 
I  received  an  invitation  from  Samuel  S.  Conant  (at  that  time 
at  his  father's  in  Vermont,  disabled  by  a  lameness,  which  some 
years  after  caused  his  death),  to  come  and  paint  eight  portraits 
of  his  father's  family  at  Brandon.  In  August  I  received  a 
definite  invitation  and  agreement  for  eight  portraits  from  John 
Conant  and  sons.  In  this  month  I  made  a  tour  to  Albany  - 
Troy  —  Saratoga  —  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  exhibition  of 
"Calvary,"  returned  to  Albany,  and  staid  at  my  friend  Samuel 
M.  Hopkins',  most  pleasantly  with  his  amiable  family,  while  I 
painted  several  portraits  at  the  Academy  Hall.  My  friend 
Cruttenden  engaged  two  fancy  pictures  to  be  painted  at  New 
York. 

I  stopped  on  my  way  to  Brandon  at  Castleton,  a  very  pleas- 
ant village,  and  became  acquainted  with  Doctor  Lewis  Beck, 
brother  to  my  friend  Doctor  Beck  of  Albany,  and  with  Doctor 
Woodward,  afterwards  of  vital  importance  to  me.  Passing 


VERMONT  A  ROUGH  COUNTRY  361 

through  Rutland,  I  reached  Brandon,  and  took  up  my  resi- 
dence with  the  hospitable  family  of  the  elder  Mr.  Conant. 

Vermont,  a  rough  country  and  newly  settled,  is  a  perfect 
contrast  to  Virginia.  A  black  face  is  not  to  be  seen  in  Brandon. 
Every  man  works  and  all  prosper.  John  Conant,  like  every 
other  father  of  a  family  in  the  State,  came  from  the  old  New 
England  States.  The  country  was  settled  and  obtained  its 
independent  self-government  in  despite  of  its  neighbor,  New 
York.  Mr.  Conant  was  a  first  settler  at  Brandon,  built  his  own 
house  with  his  own  hands  (and  a  very  good  one  it  is),  and  by 
prudence  and  industry  established  a  manufactory  of  iron  ware, 
and  a  family  of  children,  together  forming  riches  that  princes 
might  envy.  I  remained  with  this  worthy  family  until  the  21st 
of  October,  when  ice,  and  the  snow  on  the  mountain,  warned 
me  to  seek  home.  Painting,  and  rambling  over  hills  and  by 
the  side  of  Otter  Creek,  a  river  that  falls  into  Lake  Champlain, 
with  reading  (for  I  found  books  and  readers  here),  filled  up 
my  time  agreeably,  and  I  took  leave  of  my  Brandon  friends 
with  an  impression  of  deep  esteem.  Mr.  Chauncey  Conant 
conveyed  me  over  the  Hubbard  Town  hills  to  Castleton,  and 
pointed  out  on  the  way  one  of  the  spots  made  memorable  by 
a  skirmish  between  a  foraging  party  from  Burgoyne's  army 
and  the  Vermontese  militia.  At  Castleton  he  left  me,  and  I 
proceeded  by  stage  to  Albany,  suffering  severely  from  cold  on 
the  way. 

At  New  York  I  found  Mr.  West's  youngest  son,  Benjamin, 
with  his  father's  "Christ  Rejected."  As  I  had  been  fully 
persuaded  that  England  would  never  permit  that  great  work 
to  be  carried  across  the  Atlantic,  I  had,  as  I  have  stated,  made 
use  of  the  etchings  of  figures  published  from  it,  and  always 
avowed  the  obligation.  On  seeing  the  picture,  I  put  out  all 
the  figures  borrowed,  and  introduced  others  of  my  own,  worse. 
I  lost  the  Barabbas,  but  I  gained  by  a  group  of  the  Virgin  and 
others,  which  now  occupies  his  place.  I  admired  Mr.  West's 
noble  picture,  the  principal  figure  of  which  I  think  one  of  the 
finest  I  ever  beheld:  yet,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  I  frankly 
avow,  that  my  picture,  with  all  its  faults,  rose  in  my  estimation. 


362  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  I  was,  or  am,  so  blind  as  to  com- 
pare my  drawing,  touch,  coloring,  or  finishing,  to  West's:  be- 
side that  all  the  originality  of  the  subject  is  his.  But  I  found 
that  my  grouping  and  disposition  of  the  light  and  shade,  the 
attitude  of  Christ,  and  the  situation  of  Pilate,  the  executioner 
and  others,  were  as  different  as  if  I  had  never  read  a  description 
of  his  picture. 

This  winter  I  painted  two  pictures  for  my  friend  Cruttenden, 
and  a  few  portraits.  Among  others,  one  of  my  best  efforts, 
a  child  returning  from  school,  for  the  Hon.  William  M'Coun, 
vice-chancellor;  and  a  female  study,  which  I  called  the  "Historic 
Muse,"  bought  in  1833,  by  H.  C.  Beach,  Esq.  This,  Sully  said, 
was  my  best  picture. 

I  received  rather  more  than  of  late  from  my  travelling  pic- 
tures; and  on  the  19th  of  February  1830, 1  find  in  my  journal,  — 
"I  am  today  64  years  of  age  —  active,  and  enjoying  generally 
comfortable  health." 

In  March  was  exhibited  a  collection  of  the  best  pictures 
from  old  masters  which  America  had  seen.  The  gallery  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  was  hired  by  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Abrams,  who  fitted  it  up  admirably  for  the  occasion. 
This  man  (as  I  was  informed  by  an  intelligent  English  gentle- 
man, an  amateur  painter)  was  a  picture  dealer  and  cleaner  in 
London;  and  having,  in  conjunction  with  another  dealer,  of 
the  name  of  Wilmot,  collected  a  number  of  good  pictures, 
under  various  pretences,  they  concerted  the  scheme  of  flying 
with  them  to  New  York.  Here  they  were  stopped,  and  Abrams 
imprisoned.  Wilmot,  under  the  name  of  Ward,  escaped  the 
catchpoles,  and  embarked  for  Liverpool  in  the  same  vessel 
with  my  informant;  and  contrived,  by  cards  and  betting  with 
the  passengers,  to  gain  upwards  of  three  hundred  guineas.  On 
his  arrival  he  was  recognized  before  he  could  reach  the  great 
hiding  place,  London,  and  seized  by  those  he  had  defrauded. 
Abrams  made  some  compromise,  by  which  he  was  permitted 
to  exhibit  the  pictures  for  the  benefit  of  the  proprietors;  and 
he  did  it  adroitly,  with  an  impudence  worthy  of  a  picture 
dealer. 


Mr.  Morse,  the  President  of  the  National  Academy  of  De- 
sign, having  gone  to  Italy,  I,  as  vice-president,  exerted  myself 
for  the  institution:  and  on  returning  from  a  council  meeting, 
in  the  evening,  my  wife  put  in  my  hand  a  letter  which  she,  by 
accidentally  answering  a  knock  at  the  door,  had  received  from 
a  man  who  gave  it  and  hastily  departed.  That  no  hand  writ- 
ing might  be  recognized,  the  whole  was  in  imitation  of  printed 
letters.  A  note  of  the  Bank  of  America  for  one  hundred  dollars 
was  enclosed.  The  letter  was  as  follows:  — 

"Wm.  Dunlap,  Esq. 

"My  dear  Dunlap  —  During  the  high  wind  on 
Sunday  the  enclosed  100  dollar  bill  was  blown  up  here  from 
your  BANK  NOTE  WORLD.  As  we  have  every  thing  here  with- 
out money  and  without  price,  several  of  your  old  friends 
thought  it  best  to  send  it  down  to  you.  I  accordingly  inclose 
it,  hoping  you  will  receive  it  as  coming  from  ABOVE. 

"Your  friend  before  and  after  death,1 
"CHAS.  B.  BROWN." 

I  never  have  had  suspicion  or  hint  of  the  author  or  authors 
of  this  delicate  communication;  but  I  hope,  if  any  of  the  parties 
see  this  book,  they  will  accept  my  thanks  and  assurances, 
that  the  God-send  was  appropriated  as  it  was  intended. 

On  the  1st  of  April  I  visited  Philadelphia,  to  solicit  pictures 
for  the  exhibition  of  the  National  Academy.  I  of  course  saw 
all  the  painters  and  obtained  a  number  of  pictures.  I  called  to 
see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darley,  and  found  them  in  the  house  where 
I  had  passed  so  many  happy  hours  with  Charles  Brockden 
Brown,  his  wife,  children  and  friends. 

Shortly  after  returning  home  I  received  an  invitation  to  come 
to  Castleton,  Vermont,  and  paint  ten  portraits,  which  occa- 
sioned my  going  to  that  pleasant  village  again,  and  passing 
the  summer  with  Solomon  Foote,  Esq.  principal  of  the  high 
school,  then  just  opened. 

My  friend  S.  S.  Conant  was  at  this  tune  at  Clarendon 
Springs,  in  the  hope  of  help  for  his  lameness.  I  visited  him 
on  the  4th  of  July;  and  passing  the  night  there,  walked  next 

1  Brown,  who  was  Dunlap  'a  intimate  friend,  had  been  dead  twenty  years. 


364  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

day  to  Rutland.  In  the  evening  I  walked  to  West  Rutland, 
and  sleeping  there,  returned  by  daybreak  in  the  stage  to 
Castleton,  where  I  entered  the  high  school  (the  door  on  the 
latch,  as  is  the  case  all  through  the  place)  and  went  to  bed 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  family. 

In  August,  by  invitation  I  went  to  Rutland,  and  painted 
some  portraits.  I  remember  the  place  and  its  pleasant  walks 
with  pleasure;  and  with  still  more,  General  Williams  and  his 
family.  Having  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Ira  Smith,  of  Orwell, 
and  knowing  it  was  near  a  landing  place  on  Lake  Champlain, 
from  which  I  could  readily  embark,  by  steamboat,  for  White 
Hall,  I  proceeded  thither  and  painted  several  portraits :  but  my 
old  enemy,  my  chronic  disease,  which  had  given  me  warnings 
of  late,  came  upon  me  with  deadly  force,  and  I  was  confined 
to  my  bed,  with  nurses  and  sitters-up,  for  sixteen  days.  Far 
from  my  family  and  among  strangers,  in  a  country  tavern,  my 
situation  would  appear  hard;  but  I  found  kind  people,  a  most 
kind  nurse  in  the  sister  of  the  landlady,  Adeline  Wilson,  to 
whom  and  to  Doctor  Woodward,  of  Castleton,  who  came  to 
me  and  directed  the  practice  of  a  younger  physician,  Doctor 
Gale,  I  shall  with  life  retain  gratitude.  My  situation  was 
such,  that  it  was  suggested  I  should  send  for  my  wife;  but 
Woodward  told  me  not  to  do  it,  as  it  would  give  her  anxiety 
and  trouble,  cause  unnecessary  expense,  and  that,  although  I 
was  a  very  sick  man,  I  should  be  up  again  in  about  the  time, 
at  which  it  really  so  occurred.  I  wrote  to  my  wife  only  to 
inform  her  of  my  convalescence.  In  October  I  was  able  to 
finish  the  portraits  begun  and  two  more,  making  eight  (one 
a  present  to  my  landlord)  and  on  the  21st  of  October  I  com- 
menced my  homeward  journey,  and  soon  was  happily  in  the 
midst  of  my  family. 

During  the  winter  of  1830-1, 1  painted  a  few  portraits,  and  a 
hasty  picture  of  the  "Attack  on  the  Louvre,"  in  the  Parisian 
Revolution  of  July  1830.  It  was  exhibited,  but  without  suc- 
cess. I  wrote  and  delivered  lectures  on  historical  composition 
in  painting  to  the  students  of  the  National  Academy.  On  the 
anniversary  of  my  birth  I  wrote:  "February  19th,  1831  —  I 


CHRONIC  ILLNESS  365 

am  this  day  sixty-five  years  of  age.  I  am  in  health,  having 
no  return  of  my  disease  since  the  attack  at  Orwell,  in  Septem- 
ber last.  I  hope  I  am  better;  and  I  am  thankful  to  God  for 
great  blessings.  Richer  I  am  not,  but  hope  supports  me.  I 
labor  daily,  rising  between  six  and  seven."  I  painted  on  the 
"Louvre"  and  some  portraits  during  the  winter,  and  on  the  21st 
of  April  delivered  an  address  to  the  students  on  distributing 
premiums,  which  was  published  by  the  academy.  It  made 
some  impression,  and  prompted  letters  to  me  from  various  parts 
of  the  Union  and  from  Europe,  particularly  a  very  welcome 
one  from  J.  Fenimore  Cooper,  from  Paris.  In  the  summer 
of  1831  I  painted  some  portraits,  and  repainted  a  great  part 
of  the  "  Bearing  of  the  Cross." 

Few  persons  who  have  lived  to  old  age  have  experienced  so 
many  and  so  violent  attacks  of  disease.  During  that  period 
of  my  life  which  is  not  introduced  in  this  work,  when  I  was 
engaged  for  many  years  in  directing  the  New  York  theatre  and 
writing  plays,  I  passed  my  summers  at  my  native  place, 
Perth  Amboy,  and  seldom  a  year  passed  without  illness;  some- 
times bilious  fever  or  remittents,  and  more  than  once  with 
extreme  danger  to  life. 

From  the  25th  of  June  to  the  9th  of  July  1831,  I  was  in 
great  distress  from  a  recurrence  of  my  chronic  complaint:  on 
the  1st  of  July  my  friend  Dr.  McLean  brought  Dr.  Mott  to 
me,  who  performed  that  which  in  my  case  Post  had  declared 
impossible.  From  that  tune  I  recovered,  and,  to  dismiss  the 
subject,  I  remained  in  good  health  until  the  autumn  of  1833, 
when  I  was  much  distressed  and  continued  so  until  February 
1834,  in  which  month  Dr.  Mott  performed  the  operation  of 
lithotomy,  which  was  attended  with  difficulties  very  unusual; 
and  I  write  at  this  moment,  June  1834,  under  the  afflictions  of 
pain  and  weakness  caused  by  the  disease.  My  friends,  Francis 
and  McLean,  have  watched  over  me  with  the  attention  of 
affectionate  brothers,  and  to  them  and  the  skilful  operator  I 
must  remain  grateful  for  life  and  a  portion  of  health  and  ease, 
as  long  as  life  is  lent  me.  But  even  their  skill  and  attention 
would  have  availed  little  but  for  unwearied  nursing  of  my  wife 


366  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  daughter.  I  have  had,  and  have,  many  blessings;  but 
those  flowing  from  my  family  are  the  most  precious. 

In  August  1831  I  was  strong  enough  to  paint  several  por- 
traits, and  a  project  was  agitated  of  publishing  a  quarterly 
review  of  fine  arts  in  every  part  of  the  world  —  to  that  project, 
perhaps,  it  being  given  up,  is  owing  the  present  work.  At  this 
time  a  number  of  Ward's  pictures  were  sent  to  New  York 
for  exhibition  —  a  cattle  piece  and  several  others  very  good; 
but  the  adventure  sunk  a  great  sum  of  money.  Mr.  West's 
"Christ  Rejected"  was  put  up  for  exhibition  after  having 
been  eminently  successful  throughout  the  Union;  but  a  repe- 
tition did  not  answer  in  New  York.  Nothing  but  novelty  at- 
tracts our  people. 

Having  had  an  invitation  to  come  to  Burlington,  Vermont, 
when  at  Castleton,  I,  finding  myself  pressed  for  money,  left 
home  on  the  8th  of  September,  and  after  a  few  hours  spent  with 
my  friends  in  Albany,  passed  on  the  old  track  to  Whitehall,  and 
up  the  lake  to  the  very  pretty  town  I  aimed  at.  As  a  second 
string  to  my  bow,  I  ordered  on  my  picture  of  "Calvary." 
But  all  would  not  do  at  promising  Burlington.  I  had  no  pic- 
tures to  paint,  and  the  exhibition  yielded  very  little;  however, 
during  its  exhibition,  I  crossed  the  lake  to  the  rough  and  un- 
promising Plattsburg,  where  I  found  warm  friends,  portraits 
to  paint,  and,  having  removed  my  picture  thither,  a  profitable 
exhibition. 

I  put  up  at  a  tavern  and  was  well  treated,  but  my  home  was 
at  Dr.  Samuel  Beaumont's.  His  wife  was  Miss  Charlotte 
Taylor  and  my  townswoman,  and  he  has  acted  like  a  son  or 
brother.  I  remained  at  Plattsburg  until  November  2d;  then 
embarked  on  my  return  voyage  with  impressions  of  esteem  for 
many  left  behind  me,  and  none  more  than  for  Moss  Kent, 
Esq.  brother  to  my  old  friend  the  ex-chancellor.  On  the  6th 
of  November  I  found  myself  at  home  with  my  family. 

Mr.  Gouverneur  Kemble  had  for  some  time  past  the  collec- 
tion of  pictures  bought  in  Spain  by  the  late  Richard  Meade, 
Esq.  exhibited  at  Clinton  Hall,  but  with  loss.  Doctor  Hosack 
has  supported  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  by  erecting 


LECTURES  ON  ART  367 

a  very  convenient  building  in  Barclay  Street,  with  good  rooms 
for  exhibition  and  for  the  casts. 

This  winter  of  1831-2,  I  was  requested  to  give  two  lectures 
on  the  fine  arts,  in  the  Clinton  Hall  lecture  room,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Mercantile  Library  Association.  I  complied.  This 
addressing  large  assemblies  of  people  was  a  new  business  to  me ; 
and  it  is  rather  late  at  sixty-five  or  sixty-six  years  of  age  to 
begin  to  play  the  orator.  I  believe  that  I  did  not  essentially  fail 
in  what  was  expected  from  me.  I  at  this  time  lectured  to  the 
students  of  the  National  Academy.  My  prospects  as  to  re- 
ceipts and  the  necessary  means  of  living  were  this  winter  very 
gloomy,  and  my  lecturing  suggested  the  notion  of  putting  up 
all  my  pictures  in  the  Clinton  gallery  and  lecturing  on  them. 
I  carried  this  into  effect  and  gained  by  the  exertion.  My 
"  History  of  the  American  Theatre  "  was  now  nearly  ready 
for  publication.  Towards  spring  I  had  some  portraits  to 
paint  at  generous  prices. 

In  the  month  of  April  1832,  I  removed  all  my  pictures  to  a 
gallery,  the  corner  of  Anthony  Street,  Broadway,  and  had  a 
painting  room  adjoining.  The  profits  of  exhibition  were  to 
be  shared  with  the  owner  of  the  building,  but  there  were  none, 
owing  principally  to  the  prevalence  of  Asiatic  cholera,  and 
partly  to  the  improper  occupation  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
house.  During  the  summer  I  attended  daily  at  this  place, 
although  the  neighborhood  was  the  seat  of  disease.  Happily 
I  had  removed  my  family  from  that  region  to  a  distant  and 
more  airy  situation  in  the  Sixth  Avenue. 

In  October,  about  the  tune  of  publishing  my  "  History  of  the 
American  Theatre,"  I  visited  Albany  for  a  few  days,  and  on  my 
return  for  the  first  time  stopped  at  West  Point,  but  was  disap- 
pointed in  my  views  (which  were  to  see  the  old  and  new  objects 
worthy  of  attention)  by  incessant  hard  rain.  I  returned  home, 
and  in  a  few  days  went  to  Philadelphia.  It  happened  to  be 
election  time,  and  I  find  this  entry  in  my  journal:  "Sunday, 
October  14th  —  My  inn  is  thronged  with  what  are  called  poli- 
ticians; men  who  gamble  by  betting  on  elections,  and  men 
seeking  —  or  seeking  to  keep  —  offices.  Swearing,  drinking 


368  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

and  wagering  was  the  order  of  the  day.  It  is  a  melancholy 
and  degrading  picture."  On  the  16th  I  returned  home. 

In  November,  my  **  History  of  the  American  Theatre"  hav- 
ing been  published,  I  received  letters  of  compliment  from  every 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  published  proposals  for  the 
work  I  now  write  on. 

About  the  last  of  December,  Mr.  Gimbrede  the  teacher  of 
drawing  at  West  Point  died,  and  my  friends  urged  an  applica- 
tion in  my  favor  as  his  successor.  The  answer  was  that  Mr. 
Leslie  was  appointed.  Mr.  Leslie  accepted  the  appointment, 
and  acted  upon  it  for  a  short  tune. 

Tuesday,  19th  of  February  1833.  I  entered  my  68th  year 
of  age.  I  find  this  entry  in  my  journal. 

"My  health  generally  good;  my  activity  little  impaired. 
My  pecuniary  circumstances  better.  My  blessings  many,  but 
my  thankfulness  not  adequately  strong  —  but  I  am  thankful, 
and  hope  to  be  more  and  more  so." 

The  27th  in  the  evening  I  received  the  following :  — 

"  New  York,  February  27,  1833. 

"Dear  Sir: — At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  citizens 
of  New  York,  friendly  to  literature  and  the  drama,  held  this 
evening  at  the  Shakespeare  Hotel,  it  was  unanimously  resolved 
that  ten  tickets,  seats  secured  in  Box  No.  16,  be  presented  to 
you  and  the  members  of  your  family,  for  the  benefit  to  take 
place  at  the  Park  to-morrow  evening. 

"We  are  with  sentiments  of  esteem  and  great  respect, 

"Yours,        DAVID  HOSACK, 

"  CHARLES  KINO,  Sec.  Chairman. 

"To  WUliam  Dunlap,  Esq." 

I  returned  an  answer  in  the  most  respectful  manner  thank- 
ing the  committee,  but  declining  being  present  at  what  was 
called  a  festival  in  my  honor. 

On  the  5th  of  March  I  received  the  following  from  the  hands 
of  my  good  young  friend,  William  Sidney  M'Coun. 


COMPLIMENTARY  BENEFIT  369 

"New  York,  March  5,  1833. 

"Dear  Sir:  —  It  has  become  iny  pleasing  duty  as  the  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  appointed  by  the  citizens  of  New 
York,  who  were  convened  to  express  their  deep  sense  of  the 
services  rendered  by  you  to  the  promotion  of  the  fine  arts, 
and  the  dramatic  literature  of  our  country,  to  inform  you 
that  a  benefit  has  been  appropriated,  in  which  many  of  your 
fellow  citizens  have  had  an  opportunity  of  expressing  their 
estimate  of  those  services,  and  bearing  their  testimony  to  your 
character  as  a  private  citizen.  For  the  proceeds  I  refer  you 
to  the  Hon.  Wm.  T.  M'Coun,  Treasurer. 

"Allow  me,  in  the  name  of  the  committee,  to  congratulate 
you  upon  the  success  that  has  attended  their  efforts,  and  to 
add  then*  fervent  wishes  that  the  evening  of  your  life  may  be 
as  happy  as  the  former  part  of  it  has  been  usefully  and  honor- 
ably employed  in  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of  virtue. 
"Accept,  dear  sir, 

"The  expression  of  my  personal  regard  and  respect. 

"DAVID  HOSACK, 

"William  Dunlap,  Esq."  "Chairman. 

I  returned  an  answer  very  inadequate  to  my  feelings. ' 
The  net  proceeds  of  this  most  flattering  compliment  as  paid 
to  me  by  the  treasurer,  the  Hon.  William  T.  M'Coun,  Vice- 
Chancellor,  was  $2517.54.  In  addition  to  the  above  names, 
George  P.  Morris,  Charles  King,  Doctors  McLean  and  Francis, 
William  S.  M'Coun,  William  C.  Bryant,  and  many  other 
personal  friends,  with  still  more  of  my  fellow  citizens  personally 
unknown  to  me,  together  with  members  of  the  dramatic  corps 
zealously  aided  this  most  honorable  testimony  and  opportune 
gift;  a  gift  which  has  enabled  me  to  labor  on  the  present  work, 
and  supported  me  under  the  afflicting  disease  I  have  before 
mentioned.  If  this  autobiography  appears  to  others  as  it  does 
to  me,  of  undue  length,  it  must  be  attributed  to  my  knowing 
more  (not  of  myself),  but  of  the  incidents  occurring  to  me,  than 
I  know  of  those  which  influence  the  conduct  of  other  men. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

JOSEPH  WRIGHT  —  RUSH  —  PINE  —  SAVAGE  —  JAMES 
TRENCHARD  —  HOUDON  —  MALCOLM  —  DIXEY. 

JOSEPH  WRIGHT. 

THIS  gentleman  was  the  son  of  Joseph  Wright,  of  Borden- 
town,  New  Jersey,  and  Patience  Lovell  of  the  same  place,  so 
celebrated  afterwards  as  Mrs.  Wright  the  modeller  in  wax. 
The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  at  Bordentown,  on  the 
16th  of  July,  1756.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  his  mother 
about  the  year  1772,  carried  him  with  other  children  to  Lon- 
don; she  became  famous  for  her  modelling  in  wax,  and  was 
enabled  to  give  Joseph  a  good  education.  He  was  in  his  efforts 
to  become  a  painter,  aided  by  Benjamin  West,  and  by  Hopner, 
who  married  his  sister. 

In  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Hopner  to  her  mother  in  1781,  who  was 
then  in  Paris,  and  very  successful  in  her  wax  modelling,  she 
requests  her  not  to  write  to  Joseph  in  such  style  as  will  en- 
courage him  to  think  that  she  will  make  a  fortune  for  him;  for 
she  says,  Joe  is  inclined  enough  already  to  be  idle,  and  that  he 
receives  the  money  from  the  wax-work  exhibition,  and  spends 
it  at  pleasure.  Joseph,  however,  before  he  left  England  had 
made  himself  a  good  portrait  painter,  and  had  painted  a  like- 
ness of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  the  Fourth. 

In  the  winter  of  1782,  Joseph  was  placed  by  his  mother 
under  the  protection  of  Benjamin  Franklin  in  Paris  and  the 
following  letter  from  William  Temple  Franklin,  a  protegee  of 
his  grandfather,  shows  in  some  measure  how  the  young  painter 
was  employed  in  the  French  capital. 

"  A  Monsieur,  Monsieur  Wright, 

"Hotel  de  York, 
"Rue  Jacob  —  Fauxbourg,  St.  Germain.  Passy,  Feb.  28,  1782. 

"Dear  Sir:  —  Inclosed  are  the  directions  of  the  ladies  to 
whom  I  think  you  will  do  well  to  carry,  and  show  your  per- 

370 


JOSEPH  WRIGHT  AND  FAMILY 
BY  JOSEPH  WRIGHT 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the  Fine  Arts 


LIFE-MASK  OF  WASHINGTON  371 

formance.  The  former,  Madame  de  Chauminot,  will,  I  doubt 
not,  employ  you  in  taking  her  likeness,  providing  you  are  dis- 
posed and  not  exorbitant  in  your  price.  The  time  for  waiting 
upon  these  ladies  will  be  in  the  morning,  from  half-past  twelve 
to  two.  The  sooner  you  go  the  better. 

"I  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  sincerely, 
"W.  T.  FRANKLIN. 

"Mr.  Wright." 

A  passage  in  a  letter  from  his  mother  to  him,  dated  in  this 
same  year,  August  16th,  no  doubt  alludes  to  the  result  of  the 
application  advised  by  the  above.  "I  am  sorry  for  your  sake 
that  the  Duchess  forgot  the  character  of  her  station,  or  her 
own  character,  in  the  affair  of  the  two  guineas.  But  I  am  so 
well  acquainted  with  the  world,  that  I  am  not  disappointed. 
My  dear  son,  silence,  patience,  prudence,  industry,  will  put  you 
above  all  those  mean  and  little  minds,  and  teach  you  how  to 
act  when  you  become  great." 

In  the  autumn  (October)  of  1782,  Joseph  departed  by  sea 
from  Nantz,  and  went,  or  was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  to 
port  St.  Andrew's,  in  Spain.  He  was  shipwrecked  probably 
on  the  coast  of  Spain.  In  a  ten  weeks'  voyage  he  reached 
Boston,  and  wrote  almost  despondingly  to  his  mother,  having 
his  journey  south  to  New  Jersey  to  perform,  and  being  desti- 
tute of  money.  He  had  letters,  however,  both  to  Boston  and 
Rhode  Island,  and  found  his  way  to  Bordentown,  I  presume 
without  difficulty.  In  the  autumn  I  met  him  at  headquarters 
at  Rocky  Hill,  near  Princeton,  to  which  place  he  brought  a 
letter  from  Doctor  Franklin  to  Washington.  This  was  in  Octo- 
ber, 1783.  At  this  time  and  place  Mr.  Wright  painted  both 
the  General  and  Mrs.  Washington,  as  I  likewise  attempted  to 
do.  Wright's  pictures  I  then  thought  very  like.  He  afterwards 
drew  a  profile  of  Washington  and  etched  it,  and  it  is  very  like. 

Congress  then  sitting  at  Princeton,  Mr.  Wright  was  employed 
to  take  a  mould  in  plaster  of  Paris,  from  which  a  cast  might 
be  made  of  the  general's  features,  to  be  sent  to  some  European 
sculptor,  as  a  guide  for  a  marble  bust  or  statue.  The  general 
submitted  to  the  irksome  task  of  lying  on  his  back,  with  his 


372  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

face  covered  with  the  wet  plaster.  What  a  situation  for  a  hero ! 
When  the  mask  or  mould  was  hardened,  the  artist  took  it  off, 
but  in  his  anxiety  and  trepidation,  probably  hurrying  to  release 
the  general  from  thraldom,  he  let  it  fall  and  it  was  dashed  to 
pieces  on  the  floor.  Washington  would  not  carry  his  desire  to 
comply  with  the  wishes  of  Congress  so  far  as  to  undergo  an- 
other prostration,  and  the  affair  of  a  sculptured  resemblance 
was  deferred  until  Franklin  brought  out  Houdon. 

In  1784,  and  probably  in  the  winter  of  1783,  Mr.  Wright  was 
in  Philadelphia,  and  there  received  the  following  letter  from 
General  Washington  after  his  retirement: 

"Mount  Vernon,  10th  Jan.  1784. 

"  Sir,  —  When  you  have  finished  my  portrait,  which  is  in- 
tended for  the  Count  de  Solms,  I  will  thank  you  for  handing  it 
to  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  who  will  forward  it  to  the  Count  de 
Bruhl  (minister  from  his  electoral  highness  of  Saxe,  at  the  court 
of  London),  as  the  channel  pointed  out  for  the  conveyance  of 
it. 

"As  the  Count  de  Solms  proposes  to  honor  it  with  a  place 
in  his  collection  of  military  characters,  I  am  persuaded  you 
will  not  be  deficient  in  point  of  execution. 

"Be  so  good  as  to  forward  the  cost  of  it  to  me,  and  I  will 
remit  you  the  money.  Let  it  (after  Mr.  Morris  has  seen  it) 
be  carefully  packed  to  prevent  injury. 

"With  great  esteem,  I  am,  sir, 

"Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"GEO.  WASHINGTON. 

"Ma.  WRIGHT." 

I  copy  the  above  from  the  original  letter,  in  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Wright's  children. 

How  long  Mr.  Wright  remained  in  Philadelphia,  at  that 
time,  I  know  not.  In  1787  he  resided  in  Queen  (now  Pearl) 
Street,  New  York,  where  he  for  some  years  practised  his  pro- 
fession, having  married  Miss  Vandervoort,  the  niece  of  the 
martyr  to  liberty  and  his  country,  Colonel  Ledyard,  who  was 
murdered  at  Groton,  near  New  London,  by  the  British  officer 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

1706-1790 

BY  JOSEPH  WRIGHT 

(1782) 


DIES  FOR  THE  MINT  373 

to  whom  he  had  presented  his  sword  on  surrendering  the  fort 
he  had  defended. 

Mr.  Wright  removed  from  New  York  about  the  time  Con- 
gress did,  and  to  the  same  place,  Philadelphia.  His  children 
have  a  picture  painted  by  him  in  Philadelphia,  representing 
in  small  full  lengths,  himself,  wife  and  three  children.  It  was 
left  unfinished,  but  the  heads  are  very  well  painted.  Among 
other  distinguished  men,  Mr.  Wright  painted  the  portrait  of 
Mr.  Madison.  I  have  before  me  a  note  from  Mr.  Madison  to 
the  painter,  containing  an  apology  for  not  sitting  at  an  ap- 
pointed time,  and  fixing  another  time  if  agreeable  to  Mr. 
Wright.  He  was  a  modeller  in  clay  and. practised  die-sinking, 
which  last  gained  him  the  appointment,  shortly  before  his 
death,  of  die-sinker  to  the  mint.*  The  yellow  fever  of  1793 
deprived  his  country  of  his  abilities,  he  and  his  wife  dying 
within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  in  the  prime  of  life.  His 
children  (besides  the  portrait  in  the  group  above  mentioned, 
which  is  too  tall,  but  otherwise  somewhat  like)  have  a  chalk 
drawing  of  his  head,  done  from  the  mirror,  which  is  more  like, 
and  very  skillfully  drawn.  There  is  likewise  a  head  of  him 
modelled  in  clay  by  Mr.  W.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  who,  I  am 
told,  said  that  Wright  taught  him  to  model. 

While  Mr.  Wright  lived  in  New  York  he  accidentally  saw  a 
very  venerable  Jewish  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Simpson,  who 
wore  his  grey  beard  long,  and  was  remarkably  handsome. 
His  complexion  did  not  indicate  his  descent  from  Abraham,  it 
was  a  clear  red  and  white.  Wright  with  the  enthusiasm  of  an 
artist,  and  with  an  eccentricity  peculiarly  his  own,  stepped  up 
to  the  door  of  the  house,  at  the  window  of  which  the  patriarch 
sat,  and  knocking,  was  admitted.  He  introduced  himself  to 
the  family,  and  begged  the  old  gentleman  to  sit  for  his  portrait, 
expressing  his  admiration  of  his  picturesque  appearance.  The 
request  was  complied  with,  and  at  the  distance  of  five-and- 
forty  years,  I  recollect  with  pleasure  the  beautiful  representa- 

*  I  have  before  me  a  design  for  a  cent,  made  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  dated  1792.  It 
represents  an  eagle  standing  on  the  half  of  a  globe,  and  holding  in  his  beak  a  shield 
with  the  thirteen  stripes.  The  reverse  had  been  drawn  on  the  same  piece  of  paper, 
and  afterwards  cut  out. 


874  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

tion  he  made  of  the  venerable  Israelite.  I  am  told  that  Mr. 
Simpson,  the  grandson,  living  at  Yonkers,  possesses  this  pic- 
ture in  perfect  preservation. 

WILLIAM  RUSH. 

This  intelligent  and  very  pleasant  old  gentleman  (for  such 
he  was  when  I  knew  him)  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  the 
year  1757. l  He  commenced  modelling  in  clay  about  the  period 
at  which  I  introduce  him  to  the  reader.  His  performances 
are  all  in  wood  and  clay  —  he  never  worked  any  in  marble. 
The  first  figure  he  carved  was  at  about  the  third  year  of  his 
apprenticeship,  which  far  outstripped  his  master. 

My  correspondent  says,  "His  time  would  never  permit,  or 
he  would  have  attempted  marble.  He  used  to  say  it  was 
immaterial  what  the  substance  was,  the  artist  must  see  dis- 
tinctly the  figure  in  the  block,  and  removing  the  surface  was 
merely  mechanical.  When  in  a  hurry  he  used  to  hire  a  wood 
chopper,  and  stand  by  and  give  directions  where  to  cut,  by 
this  means  he  facilitated  work  with  little  labor  to  himself. 
The  crucifixes  in  the  St.  Augustine  and  St.  Mary's  Catholic 
Churches,  the  Water  Nymph  at  'Fair  Mount,'  the  figures  in 
front  of  the  theatre,  with  the  statue  of  Washington  in  the  State 
House,  are  his  works  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  always  a  source 
of  regret  that  he  had  so  little  time  spared  him  from  his  occupa- 
tion in  ship  carving  where  he  succeeded  so  admirably,  especially 
in  his  Indian  figures.  He  died  January  17th,  1833,  aged  76." 

Mr.  Rush  was  a  coadjutor  in  1789,  with  Charles  Willson 
Peale  and  others,  in  attempting  to  institute  an  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts  in  Philadelphia. 

In  1812  Mr.  Rush  exhibited  several  busts  and  figures  at  the 
Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts:  these  were  the  bust  of 
Linnaeus  —  bust  of  William  Bartram  —  bust  of  Rev.  H.  Muh- 
lenberg  —  figures  of  Exhortation,  Praise,  and  a  Cherubim. 

Mr.  Rush  was  observing  in  his  study  of  the  human  figure. 
"When  I  see  my  boys  bungling  in  the  carving  a  hand,  I  tell 
them  look  at  your  own  hands  —  place  them  in  the  same  posi- 

1  William  Rush  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in  1756  and  died  January  17, 1838,  aged  77. 


WILLIAM  RUSH 
1756-1833 

FROM    A    LITHOGRAPH    BY    MAX    RoSENTHAL 


THE  SON  OF  AN  ENGRAVER  375 

tion  —  imitate  them  and  you  must  be  right.  You  always  have 
the  model  at  hand."  These  were  nearly  his  words  in  a  conversa- 
tion with  me  some  years  ago. 

ROBERT  EDGE  PINEJ 

Came  to  America  in  the  year  1783,  upon  a  speculation  similar 
to  that  which  John  Trumbull  happily  commenced  a  short  time 
after.  Pine's  very  rational  scheme  was  to  paint  portraits  of 
the  heroes  and  patriots  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  com- 
bine them  in  historical  pictures  of  the  great  events  which  had 
made  the  United  States  an  independent  nation. 

Mr.  Pine  had  proved  himself  an  historical  painter  in  Eng- 
land by  several  compositions  of  merit,  some  of  which  are  ren- 
dered familiar  to  the  world  by  good  engravings.  Why  Allen 
Cunningham  has  not  enrolled  him  in  his  list  of  eminent  British 
painters  must  be  left  to  conjecture :  that  he  is  more  entitled  to 
such  distinction  than  Sir  George  Beaumont,  is  evident  from 
Cunningham's  own  showing,  in  the  biography  of  the  accom- 
plished, liberal,  and  amiable  knight.  He  was  established  in 
London  as  early  as  1761-2.  Mortimer,  after  leaving  Hudson, 
with  whom  he  had  studied  a  short  time,  became  a  student 
with  Pine. 

I  learn  from  "Edwards'  Anecdotes  of  Painters,"  that  "Mr. 
Pine  was  born  in  London.  He  was  the  son  of  Mr.  John  Pine 
the  engraver,  who  executed  and  published  the  elegant  edition 
of  Horace,  the  whole  of  which  is  engraved.  Robert  Edge 
Pine  chiefly  practised  as  a  portrait  painter,  and  was  considered 
as  among  the  best  colorists  of  his  time.  He  resided  several 
years  in  St.  Martin's  Lane,  in  the  large  mansion  opposite  to 
New  Street,  Covent  Garden. 

"In  the  year  1760  he  produced  a  picture,  as  candidate  for  the 
premium  then  offered  by  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement 

1  Robert  Edge  Pine  was  born  in  London,  according  to  Nagler  in  1730,  while  Red- 
grave gives  the  year  1742.  The  later  date  seems  impossible  from  the  fact  that  in  1760 
he  received  the  prize  mentioned  and  there  is  a  mezzotint  by  McArdell  published  in 
1752  of  Mr.  Lowe  and  Mrs.  Chambers  in  the  characters  of  "Captain  Macheath  and 
Polly"  after  a  painting  by  R.  Pine,  which  conclusively  negatives  the  date  given  by 
Redgrave. 


376  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

of  Arts,  etc.,  for  the  best  historical  picture  painted  in  oil  colors; 
the  figures  to  be  as  large  as  life,  and  the  subject  to  be  taken 
from  English  history.  Mr.  Pine  selected  the  Surrender  of 
Calais,  and  obtained  the  first  prize  of  one  hundred  guineas. 
-  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  Society  offered  this  liberal 
stimulus  to  the  exertions  of  the  British  artists. 

"In  1762,  he  again  offered  a  picture,  as  candidate  for  the 
similar  premium,  and  obtained  the  first  prize;  the  subject, 
'  Canute  on  the  Sea  Shore,  reproving  his  Courtiers  for  their 
Flattery.'  At  the  same  tune  his  former  pupil,  Mr.  Mortimer, 
obtained  the  second  premium.  West  arrived  in  London  in 
1763,  and  took  precedence  of  all  the  English  historical  painters. 

"In  the  year  1772,  upon  the  death  of  his  brother  Simon, 
Pine  went  to  Bath,  and  staid  there  till  1779.  He  returned 
to  London  in  the  early  part  of  1782,  and  made  an  exhibition 
at  the  Great  Room,  Spring  Gardens,  of  a  collection  of  pictures 
painted  by  himself;  the  subjects  taken  from  various  scenes  in 
Shakespeare;  but  the  exhibition  did  not  answer  his  expecta- 
tions. It  must  be  observed,  that  whatever  merit  those  works 
might  possess  in  their  coloring  and  composition,  his  drawing 
in  general  was  feeble  in  the  extreme,  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
prints  which  were  engraved  after  some  of  the  pictures. 

"The  peace  of  1783  opened  a  new  field  for  Pine;  and  as  he 
did  not  meet  with  that  employment  he  wished  for  in  London, 
he  quitted  England  and  went  to  America.1 

"The  following  may  be  considered  among  his  best  pictures: 
—  A  whole-length  portrait  of  his  late  Majesty  George  II. 
painted  from  memory.  —  A  whole-length  portrait  of  the  late 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  in  the  committee  room  of  the  Mid- 

1  Pine  did  not  reach  America  until  the  spring  of  1784  and  the  following  advertisement 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  for  November  15,  1784,  shows  that  he  was  then  in  Phila- 
delphia: 

"Mr.  Pine, 

being  honored  with  the  use  of  a  commodious  apartment  in  the  State  House,  for  the 
purpose  of  painting  the  most  illustrious  scenes  in  the  late  Revolution,  hopes  that 
those  who  are  desirous  of  seeing  his  pictures,  will  not  disapprove  of  contributing  one 
quarter  of  a  dollar  on  entrance,  in  order  to  be  accommodated  with  proper  attendance, 
fires  and  descriptive  catalogues  of  the  paintings. 

"N.  B.  Attendance  will  be  given  at  the  side  door  of  the  Congress  chamber,  every 
morning,  except  Sundays,  at  11  o'clock.  To  open  tomorrow." 


"A  FAMILY  OF  PIGMIES"  377 

dlesex  Hospital,  in  which  his  grace  is  represented  as  laying 
the  first  stone  of  that  building.  His  picture  of  the  Surrender 
of  Calais  is  in  the  Town  Hall  of  Newbury.  It  was  bought  of 
the  artist  by  the  corporation;  and  the  print  which  was  engraved 
from  it,  is  dedicated  to  them  by  Mr.  Pine." 

He  took  up  his  abode  in  Philadelphia,  having  brought  his 
family  with  him,  and  resided  at  the  corner  of  High  and  Sixth 
Streets.  The  following  is  part  of  a  letter  relative  to  him,  from 
the  Hon.  Joseph  Hopkmson,  of  Philadelphia,  received  May 
6th,  1833.  - 

"  I  remember  his  arrival  in  this  country;  he  brought  letters 
of  introduction  to  my  father,  whose  portrait  was  the  first  he 
painted  in  America.  It  is  now  in  my  possession,  and  is  a  very 
fine  one :  it  bears  the  date  of  1785,  and  is  now  as  fresh  in  color 
as  it  was  on  the  day  it  was  painted.  Pine  came  to  this  country 
in  the  preceding  year.  His  particular  object  was  to  paint 
the  distinguished  persons  and  events  of  our  Revolution;  but 
we  were  too  young  to  give  encouragement  or  patronage  to 
historical  pictures  —  and  he  took  to  portraits ;  which  his  wife 
also  painted,  and  taught  the  art  in  this  city.  Robert  Morris, 
who  patronized  him,  built  a  house  in  Eighth  Street,  now  stand- 
ing, suitable  to  his  objects.  He  died  here,  I  think,  of  an  apo- 
plexy, but  do  not  find  in  what  year.  He  brought  a  high  reputa- 
tion here  —  was  king's  painter;  and  I  have  seen  engravings  from 
several  of  his  pictures,  particularly  of  Garrick.1  I  remember 
a  large  picture  in  his  gallery,  of  Medea  murdering  her  chil- 
dren, and  several  others,  some  from  Shakespeare.  —  Prospero 
and  Miranda,  in  'The  Tempest,'  I  particularly  recollect.  Many 
of  his  pictures  are  scattered  about  in  Virginia,  where  he  went 
occasionally  to  paint  portraits.  He  was  a  very  small  man  — 
morbidly  irritable.  His  wife  and  daughters  were  also  very 
diminutive;  they  were  indeed  a  family  of  pigmies.  After  his 
death  his  family  went  back  to  Europe,  and  his  pictures  were 
sold  by  public  sale.  Many  of  them  were  bought  and  taken 
to  Boston  by  a  person  whose  name  I  forget  (I  think  it  was 
Bowen),  who  kept  a  museum  there.  This,  I  think,  was  about 

1  Pine  painted  at  least  four  portraits  of  David  Garrick. 


378  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

the  year  1793;  and  of  course  his  death  was  antecedent  to  that 
time,  but  how  long  I  cannot  say.  His  widow  and  daughters 
kept  a  school  after  his  death.  I  believe  he  died  before  my  father, 
which  was  hi  the  spring  of  1791,  and  that  the  school  was  not 
opened  till  after  his  death.  This  is  all  the  information  now  in 
my  recollection.  I  think,  by  making  some  inquiry  I  may  collect 
something  more;  hi  which  case  I  will  communicate  it  to  you. 

"  Yours,  etc.  Jos.  HOPKINSON. 

"  P.  S.  He  brought  with  him  a  plaster  cast  of  the  Venus  de 
Medicis,  which  was  kept  shut  up  in  a  case,  and  only  shown 
to  persons  who  particularly  wished  to  see  it;  as  the  manners 
of  our  country,  at  that  time,  would  not  tolerate  a  public  exhibi- 
tion of  such  a  figure.  This  fact  shows  our  progress  in  civiliza- 
tion and  the  arts." 

Our  people  now  flock  to  see  the  naked  display  of  a  Parisian 
hired  model  for  the  painter's  study,  and  an  English  prostitute 
in  the  most  voluptuous  attitude,  without  a  shade  of  covering 
enticing  the  man  to  sin;  a  perfect  Venus  and  Adonis,  under 
the  names  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  called  "a  moral  picture." 

The  paintings  mentioned  by  Judge  Hopkinson,  as  being 
removed  to  Boston,  were  all  destroyed  by  fire,  in  a  conflagra- 
tion of  Bowen's  Museum:1  but  they  had  the  honor,  with 
Smibert's  copy  of  Cardinal  Bentivoglio,  of  giving  the  first 
lessons  hi  coloring  to  the  greatest  colorist  this  country  has 
produced.  Mr.  Allston  has  said,  "In  the  coloring  of  figures 
the  pictures  of  Pine,  hi  the  Columbian  Museum  in  Boston, 
were  my  first  masters.  Pine  had  certainly,  as  far  as  I  can  recol- 
lect, considerable  merit  hi  color." 

The  world  can  now  form  an  estimate  of  the  talents  and  ac- 
quirements of  Pine  only  from  the  engravings  published  of  his 
works,  and  the  portraits  of  eminent  men  of  our  country  still 
remaining  among  us.  The  former  place  him  in  a  high  rank, 
though  not  the  highest,  among  modern  artists,  for  composi- 
tion; and  the  latter  give  him  a  still  superior  station  among 

1  The  Columbian  Museum,  with  the  greater  part  of  its  collections,  was  destroyed 
by  fire  January  15,  1803. 


379 

the  portrait  painters.  The  portraits  of  Francis  Hopkinson, 
in  the  possession  of  his  son,  and  of  Doctor  Johnson,  President 
of  Columbia  College,  in  the  collection  of  his  grandson,  Gulian 
C.  Verplanck,  are  specimens  of  talent  for  the  delineation  of 
character  of  a  high  order;  and  for  coloring,  much  beyond  any 
of  the  artists,  his  contemporaries  in  this  country,  Stuart  alone 
excepted. 

Robert  Gilmor,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  in  answer  to  inquiries 
respecting  our  early  artists,  says,  "Chas.  W.  Peale  and  Robt. 
Edge  Pine  were  the  earliest  painters  I  recollect  in  Baltimore, 
and  there  are  numbers  of  portraits  by  both  here.  Mrs.  Caton 
has  the  Carroll  Family,  by  Pine,  painted  at  Annapolis;  in 
which  full  lengths  of  C.  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  his  son  Charles, 
herself  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Harper,  are  painted.  Mr.  Patterson 
and  Mr.  Robert  Smith  have  large  family  groups,  by  Pine  also. 

The  Hon.  Francis  Hopkinson,  whose  portrait  Pine  had 
painted  with  perfect  success,1  wrote  to  General  Washington, 
explaining  the  design  Pine  had  in  view  of  collecting  portraits 
for  historical  pictures  of  the  events  of  the  Revolution,  and  re- 
questing the  general  to  forward  the  wishes  of  the  artist,  by 
sitting  to  him:  and  Washington  wrote  the  following  letter  to 
Hopkinson,  in  reply :  — 

"Mount  Vernon,  16th  May,  1785. 

"Dear  Sir  — 'In  for  a  penny  in  for  a  pound'  is  an  old  adage. 
I  am  so  hackneyed  to  the  touches  of  the  painter's  pencil,  that  I 
am  now  altogether  at  their  beck,  and  sit  like  Patience  on  a 
monument,  whilst  they  delineate  the  features  of  my  face.  It  is 
a  proof,  among  many  others,  of  what  habit  and  custom  may 
effect.  At  first  I  was  impatient  at  the  request,  and  as  restive 
under  the  operation  as  a  colt  is  of  the  saddle.  The  next  time 
I  submitted  very  reluctantly,  but  with  fewer  flounces:  now, 
no  dray  moves  more  readily  to  the  drill,  than  I  to  the  painter's 
chair.  It  may  easily  be  conceived,  therefore,  that  I  yielded  a 
ready  acquiescence  to  your  request  and  to  the  views  of  Mr. 
Pine. 

1  The  portrait  of  Francis  Hopkinson  is  now  in  the  gallery  of  The  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society. 


880  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"Letters  from  England  recommendatory  of  this  gentleman 
came  to  my  hands  previous  to  his  arrival  in  America  —  not  only 
as  an  artist  of  acknowledged  eminence,  but  as  one  who  has  dis- 
covered a  friendly  disposition  towards  this  country  —  for 
which  it  seems  he  had  been  marked. 

"It  gave  me  pleasure  to  hear  from  you  —  I  shall  always  feel 
an  interest  in  your  happiness  —  and  with  Mrs.  Washington's 
compliments  and  best  wishes,  joined  to  my  own,  for  Mrs. 
Hopkinson  and  yourself, 

"I  am,  dear  sir, 
"Your  obedient  and  affectionate  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 

It  would  appear  by  the  following  notification,  that  Mr.  Pine 
was  dead  before  the  18th  of  April,  1789. 

"Kingston,  Jamaica,  April  18,  1789. 

"A  very  capital  painting  representing  the  quarter-deck  of 
the  *  Formidable,'  on  the  memorable  12th  of  April,  1782,  with 
whole-length  figures,  large  as  life,  of  Lord  Rodney,  Sir  Charles 
Douglas,  Lord  Cranston,  and  other  British  worthies,  was 
exhibited  to  the  British  Club,  and  a  handsome  subscription 
immediately  commenced  to  purchase  it.  This  piece  is  the 
production  of  an  American  artist,  Mr.  Pine,  lately  deceased. 
The  price  is  200  guineas." 

Therefore  we  see  that  Mr.  Pine  was  denied  tune  to  make 
the  collection  of  portraits  necessary  for  his  great  undertaking. 
This  agrees  with  the  Hon.  Judge  Hopkinson's  supposition 
that  he  died  before  1791,  the  date  of  the  decease  of  the  Hon. 
Francis  Hopkinson.1 

Edwards  says,  that  he  died  in  1790,  leaving  a  widow  and 
some  daughters,  who  returned  to  England. 

EDWARD  SAVAGE. 

Mr.  Savage,  I  believe,  was  a  native  of  one  of  the  New  England 
States.  He  was  painting  in  New  York  in  1789;  and  had  previ- 

1 R.  E.  Pine  died  of  apoplexy  in  Philadelphia  November  19,  1788. 


EDWARD  SAVAGE 
1761-1817 
BY  HIMSELF 

From  the  collection  of  the  Worcester  Art  Museum 


EDWIN  OR  SAVAGE?  381 

ously  been  living  in  Philadelphia.1  He  would  not  be  worth 
notice  as  an  artist  but  as  connected  with  others.  He  removed  to 
Philadelphia,  and  there  painted  and  pretended  to  engrave. 
The  father  of  John  Wesley  Jarvis,  put  the  boy,  his  son,  to 
Savage,  to  learn  engraving;  and  Savage,  removing  again  to 
New  York,  Jarvis,  as  his  apprentice,  came  with  him,  as  did 
David  Edwin,  the  celebrated  engraver,  whom  he  engaged  in 
his  employ.  This  was  in  1798.  Savage  published  prints  from 
his  own  wretched  pictures,  mended  and  engraved  by  Edwin, 
but  inscribed  with  Savage's  name  as  engraver.  Edwin,  being 
asked  why  he  did  not  put  his  name  to  his  work,  by  one  who 
knew  Savage  could  do  nothing  with  the  tool  or  graver,  replied, 
"  I  do  not  wish  the  credit  which  is  to  be  derived  from  pictures  of 
Mr.  Savage's  composition."  "I  soon  found,"  said  Jarvis, 

1  Edward  Savage,  who  was  both  painter  and  engraver,  was  born  in  Princeton, 
Mass.,  November  26,  1761,  the  son  of  Seth  and  Lydia  Craige  Savage,  and  died  there 
July  6,  1817.  The  first  knowledge  we  have  of  Savage  as  a  painter  is  that  at  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  he  was  commissioned  by  Harvard  University  to  paint  the  portrait 
of  Washington.  What  preparation  he  had  had  for  such  an  undertaking  is  not  known. 
The  portrait,  however,  speaks  for  itself  and  its  excellence  shows  that  ignorance  inspired 
Dunlap  to  write  so  disparagingly  of  the  work  of  Savage.  In  1791  Savage  went  to  Lon- 
don, subsequently  visited  Italy  and  returned  to  America  in  1794.  He  married  Sarah 
Seaver  at  Boston  October  13,  1794.  Soon  after  1794  Savage  went  to  Philadelphia  and 
joined  with  Daniel  Bowen  in  establishing  the  New  York  Museum,  later  removed  to 
Boston  and  renamed  the  Columbian  Museum.  The  story  Dunlap  tells  and  which  has 
been  repeated  by  others  that  Edwin  "mended  and  engraved"  the  plates  bearing  the 
name  of  Edward  Savage  as  engraver  appears  absurd.  "The  Washington  Family"  was 
published  March  10,  1798.  John  F.  Watson  in  "The  Annals  of  Philadelphia"  says  that 
David  Edwin,  born  in  England  in  December,  1776,  landed  in  Philadelphia  in  December, 

1797.  This  shows  that  at  that  date  Edwin  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Immediately 
on  his  arrival  he  found  employment  with  T.  B.  Freeman,  the  engraver,  and  on  May  1, 

1798,  Freeman  published  the  plates  of  Harwood  and  Barnard,  the  actors,  both  bearing 
the  name  of  Edwin  as  engraver.   "The  Washington  Family"  is  a  large  plate  measur- 
ing 18J4  by  24 J^  inches  and  Savage  says  in  his  letter  to  Washington  of  June  8,  1798, 
that  it  took  him  several  years  to  execute  it.    It  is  a  fair  assumption  that  Edwin  could 
not  have  had  time  while  engraving  two  other  plates  for  T.  B.  Freeman  to  engrave 
"The  Washington  Family"  also,  as  all  three  would  then  have  been  made  within  a 
period  of  about  four  months.   While  the  work  of  Edwin  as  an  engraver  is  greatly  su- 
perior to  that  of  Savage,  in  fact  to  that  of  most  of  the  men  of  the  period,  the  work  of 
Edward  Savage  as  an  engraver  is  not  of  the  character  Dunlap  would  lead  us  to  believe, 
and  if  it  is  true  that  most  of  the  good  work  on  "The  Washington  Family"  is  from  the 
hand  of  Edwin  then  we  must  assume  that  the  excellent  plate  of  "Liberty"  which  bears 
Savage's  name  as  painter  and  engraver,  the  stippled  plates  of  General  Knox  and  of 
Washington  and  the  mezzotint  of  David  Rittenhouse  here  reproduced  are  all  the  work 
of  Edwin  or  some  other  engraver,  and  if  this  is  true  of  the  plates  mentioned  why  not 
ascribe  to  other  hands  all  the  excellent  plates  made  by  Savage?    Edwin  was  a  great 
artist  and  he  does  not  need  these  claims  to  enhance  his  reputation;  at  the  same  time 
such  statements  do  injustice  to  so  good  a  painter  and  engraver  as  Edward  Savage. 


382  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

"that  I  could  paint  better  than  my  master,  and  engrave  ten 
times  better." 

After  Jarvis  left  him,  he  had  as  pupils  Charles  B.  King 
and  John  Crawley.  He  had  a  kind  of  museum  and  picture 
gallery  hi  Greenwich  Street,  in  a  building  once  used  as  a  circus. 
He  published  the  "Washington  Family,"  engraved  by  Edwin, 
who  made  it  tolerable,  and  perhaps  Jarvis  helped.  Jarvis  has 
said,  "I  assisted  in  engraving  it  —  I  printed  it,  and  carried 
it  about  for  sale."  Before  he  engaged  Edwin  he  had  visited 
London,  and  brought  out  a  man  whom  he  engaged  to  engrave 
for  him  at  half  a  guinea  a  week,  Savage  paying  his  passage. 
This  is  similar  to  some  of  the  early  engagements  made  by 
managers  with  actors,  who  found,  after  then*  arrival  in  America, 
that  their  weekly  salary  would  not  pay  their  board  and  lodging. 

TRENCHARD1 

Engraved  in  Philadelphia  about  this  time.  He  was  a  pupil  of 
Smither.  "He  tried,"  says  Lawson,  "to  make  designs  and 
engravings  for  a  magazine,  but  they  were  poor  scratchy  things, 
as  were  all  the  rest  of  his  works."  He  was  the  master  of  Thac- 
kara  and  Valeance,  and  taught  what  he  knew  to  his  son  Edward 
Trenchard,  hereafter  mentioned. 

M.  HOUDON. 

M.  Houdon  was  born  at  Versailles  in  1741. 2  The  celebrated 
sculptors  of  France  immediately  preceding  him  were  Coisevoix, 
Vancleve,  Lepautre,  Legros,  the  two  Coustous,  and  Bou- 
chardon.  The  works  of  these  masters,  placed  under  the  eyes 
of  the  young  man,  had  their  influence  in  forming  his  taste, 
even  without  his  being  conscious  of  the  aid  he  received  from 
them.  These  masters  were  in  fact  the  only  instructors  of 
Houdon  until  he  had,  by  his  untutored  efforts,  gained  admis- 
sion into  the  Academy ;  and  he  continued  his  studies  without 

1  James  Trenchard  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  "Columbian  Magazine"  of 
Philadelphia  for  which  he  engraved  a  number  of  plates,  principally  views.  He  was 
working  in  Philadelphia  as  early  as  1777  and  is  said  to  have  removed  to  England  in 
1793. 

1  On  the  20th  of  March. 


I 

p 

H 


A  FAMOUS  FRENCH  SCULPTOR  383 

placing  himself  under  the  formal  direction  of  any  professor. 
By  his  diligence  he  progressively  advanced  to  skill,  until  he 
gained  the  great  prize  for  sculpture  in  1760,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen. 

Pigalle,  the  successor  of  Bouchardon,  encouraged  the  young 
man  by  his  advice,  but  we  see  by  the  opposite  mode  in  which 
these  artists  afterwards  treated  the  same  subject  (the  statue 
of  Voltaire),  that  the  younger  had  a  genius  which  would  not 
submit  to  copy  the  errors  of  his  friend's  style.  He  struck  out  a 
path  for  himself  and  followed  it. 

Houdon  had  the  advantage  of  a  ten  years'  residence  in 
Rome;  and  left  in  the  porch  of  the  church  of  the  Chartreux 
the  beautiful  statue  of  St.  Bruno,  in  marble,  the  product  of  his 
chisel.  This  statue  is  said  to  be  the  perfect  representation  of 
humility,  in  the  costume  of  the  pious  Cenobite.  Pope  Clement 
the  fourteenth  said  of  it,  "It  would  speak,  if  the  rules  of  the 
order  had  not  enjoined  silence." 

On  returning  to  France  M.  Houdon  introduced  a  style, 
which,  although  not  of  the  highest  order,  avoided  the  servility 
of  imitation,  and  was  free  from  the  constraint  of  those  leading 
strings  of  art  which  have  been  called  the  academic  manner. 

His  Morpheus  gained  him  the  honors  of  the  Academy,  and 
he  shortly  after  presented  to  all  students  of  the  arts  of  design 
his  invaluable  anatomical  statue—  "1'ecorche."  This  is  a 
work  for  which  he  deserves  our  gratitude,  inasmuch  as  it  could 
not  add  to  his  fame,  and  he  could  only  be  remunerated  for 
his  labor  by  the  pleasure  of  being  useful  to  others. 

M.  Houdon  had  now  no  rival  in  France;  and  his  fame  had 
reached  America.  He  was  invited  to  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  executing  a  likeness  of  Washington  in  marble, 
and  chiseling  a  statue  of  the  hero  of  our  revolution,  a  work 
which  had  been  long  contemplated.  I  have  already  noticed 
the  attempt  made  by  Mr.  Joseph  Wright,  in  1783,  to  take  a 
mask  or  mould  in  plaster  of  Paris,  from  which  a  cast  might 
have  been  made  as  a  guide  to  some  sculptor,  in  the  formation 
of  a  statue,  and  the  accidental  failure  of  Wright's  effort. 

M.  Quatremere  de  Quincy  says,  in  his  "Notice  Historique  sur 


384  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

la  vie  et  les  ouvrages  de  M.  Houdon,"  which  I  have  freely 
used,  "The  United  States  invited  him  to  execute  the  statue  of 
Washington."  This  is  not  fact.  The  State  of  Virginia  had 
resolved  to  have  such  a  statue,  and  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
Thomas  Jefferson  agreed  with  the  sculptor  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  bust,  preparatory  to  executing 
the  statue  for  the  State  House  at  Richmond.  Mr.  Jefferson 
was  probably  authorized  by  his  native  State  to  engage  an  artist 
for  the  purpose. 

The  same  writer  says,  "Conducted  to  America  by  Franklin, 
he  resided  some  time  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  lodged  in 
the  house  of  Washington  himself."  This  is  likewise  erroneous, 
General  Washington  having  retired  to  his  house  at  Mount 
Vernon,  at  which  place  M.  Houdon  executed  his  bust,  and  took 
the  measurement  of  the  hero's  person,  to  give  perfect  accuracy 
to  the  proportions  of  the  statue;  which  was  done  in  the  presence 
of  Mr.  Madison.  For  the  proof  of  this  see  the  letters  in  the 
note.* 

*  Philadelphia,  September  20,  1785. 

"Dear  Sir  —  I  am  just  arrived  from  a  country  where  the  reputation  of  General 
Washington  runs  very  high,  and  where  everybody  wishes  to  see  him  in  person;  but 
being  told  that  it  is  not  likely  he  will  ever  favor  them  with  a  visit,  they  hope  at  least 
for  a  sight  of  his  perfect  resemblance,  by  means  of  their  principal  statuary,  M.  Houdon, 
whom  Mr.  Jefferson  and  myself  agreed  with  to  come  over  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a 
bust,  in  order  to  make  the  intended  statue  for  the  State  of  Virginia.  He  is  here,  but  the 
materials  and  instruments  he  sent  down  the  Seine  from  Paris,  not  being  arrived  at 
Havre  when  we  sailed,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  them,  and  is  now  busied  in  supplying 
himself  here.  As  soon  as  that  is  done  he  proposes  to  wait  on  you  in  Virginia,  as  he  un- 
derstands there  is  no  prospect  of  your  coming  hither,  which  would  indeed  make  me 
very  happy:  as  it  would  give  me  the  opportunity  of  congratulating  with  you  person- 
ally on  the  final  success  of  your  long  and  painful  labors  in  the  service  of  our  country, 
which  have  laid  us  all  under  eternal  obligations. 

"  With  the  greatest  and  most  sincere  esteem  and  respect, 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"B.  FRANKLIN." 
[ANSWER  TO  THE  FOREGOING.] 

"Mount  Vernon,  September  26,  1785. 

"  I  had  just  written,  and  was  about  to  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Taylor  (a  gentle- 
man in  the  department  of  the  secretary  for  foreign  affairs),  the  inclosed  letter,  when  I 
had  the  honor  to  receive  your  favor  of  the  20th  instant. 

"  I  have  a  grateful  sense  of  the  partiality  of  the  French  nation  towards  me;  and  I 
feel  very  sensibly  for  the  indulgent  expression  of  your  letter,  which  does  me  great  honor. 
"  When  it  suits  Mr.  Houdon  to  come  hither,  I  will  accommodate  him  in  the  best 
manner  I  am  able,  and  shall  endeavor  to  render  his  stay  as  agreeable  as  I  can. 

"  It  would  give  me  infinite  pleasure  to  see  you.  At  this  place  I  dare  not  look  for  it, 
although  to  entertain  you  under  my  own  roof  would  be  doubly  gratifying.  When,  or 


DAVID  RITTENHOUSE,  LL.D.,  F.R.S. 

1732-1796 

FROM  THE  MEZZOTINT  ENGRAVING  BY  EDWARD  SAVAGE  AFTER  A  PAINTING  HT 
CHARLES  WILLSON  PEALE 


HOUDON'S  WASHINGTON  BUST  385 

It  is  true,  as  the  author  goes  on  to  say,  that  "he  took  the 
likeness  of  Washington  en  buste,  and  brought  it  home  with 
him,  to  serve  in  the  execution  of  the  statue  in  marble,"  destined 
for  the  capitol  in  the  city  of  Richmond,  "where  it  may  be 
seen." 

In  the  diary  of  Governeur  Morris,  as  published  by  the  Rev. 
Jared  Sparks,  is  the  following  insertion.  "June  5th  (1789). 
Go  to  M.  Houdon's.  He  has  been  waiting  for  me  a  long  time. 
I  stand  for  his  statue  of  General  Washington,  being  the 
humble  employment  of  a  manikin.  This  is  literally  taking 
the  advice  of  St.  Paul,  to  be  all  things  to  all  men,  —  promise 
M.  Houdon  to  attend  next  Tuesday,  at  half-past  eight,  to 
have  my  bust  taken,  which  he  desires  to  please  himself,  for  this 
is  the  answer  to  my  question,  what  he  wants  with  my  bust?" 

I  have  seen  the  statue  of  Washington  in  the  capitol  at  Rich- 
mond. It  is  not  so  good  a  likeness  as  Ceracchi's  bust  in  marble, 
size  of  life,  or  Stuart's  original  head  of  Washington.  The 
statue  is  in  the  modern  costume.  The  general  has  his  full 
military  dress,  as  worn  in  the  war  of  our  liberation.  Of  what 
use  the  person  of  Governeur  Morris  could  be  to  the  artist  I 
cannot  conceive,  as  there  was  no  likeness  in  form  or  manner 
between  him  and  the  hero,  except  that  both  were  tall  men. 
And  the  measurements  above  mentioned,  which  Mr.  Madison 
told  Mr.  Durand  (at  the  time  that  artist  went  to  Virginia  for 
the  purpose  of  painting  his  excellent  head  of  that  great  man) 
he  saw  the  sculptor  make  at  Mount  Vernon,  would  certainly 
not  agree  with  the  proportions  of  Mr.  Morris. 

On  his  return  to  Paris,  M.  Houdon  produced  a  statue  of 
Diana,  a  copy  of  which  was  made  in  bronze.  The  original,  in 
marble,  was  ordered  by  the  Empress  Catharine,  of  Russia,  for 
the  Hermitage.  It  is  said  that  this  Diana  is  more  like  one  of 
the  followers  of  Venus  than  the  goddess  of  Chastity.  M.  de 

whether  ever,  I  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  you  at  Philadelphia  is  uncertain, 
as  retirement  from  the  walks  of  public  life  has  not  been  so  productive  of  that  leisure 
and  ease  as  might  have  been  expected. 
"  With  very  great  esteem  and  respect, 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON." 


386  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

Quincy,  with  great  naivett,  wonders  that  the  artist  should  so 
represent  Diana.  He  forgets  that  the  statue  was  destined  for 
Catharine  of  Russia.  That  she  should  order  a  Diana  is  the 
wonder. 

M.  Houdon  gained  great  credit  by  his  representation  of 
Voltaire.  Pigalle  had  been  employed  to  execute  a  statue  of 
the  poet  and  philosopher;  and  gave  him  in  all  the  nudity  of 
the  Greek  statuary,  and  all  the  detailed  decrepitude  of  old 
age.  The  result  was  a  figure  fit  for  the  anatomical  school. 
Houdon's  statue  is  sitting,  and  the  drapery  flowing  and  be- 
fitting a  philosopher.  It  has  the  air  of  the  antique,  and  is  a 
true  portrait  of  the  man.  The  costume  might  be  termed  ideal, 
but  accorded  strictly  with  his  character,  at  the  same  time  avoid- 
ing the  dress  of  the  court  or  the  street.  Gulian  C.  Verplanck 
and  Washington  Allston  saw  this  great  effort  of  Houdon's 
genius  at  the  same  time.  Allston  stood  silent  before  it  for 
some  minutes,  and  then  exclaimed,  "A  living  statue!" 

The  statue  called  la  Frileuse,  gained  M.  Houdon  great  popu- 
larity, and  principally  by  the  charm  of  simplicity.  It  is  the 
personification  of  cold,  or  winter.  This  simplicity  was  not 
the  characteristic  of  Houdon's  style  in  portraiture.  He  pro- 
duced likeness  by  too  great  attention  to  detail.  Among  the 
many  portraits  from  his  chisel  may  be  mentioned  Voltaire, 
Franklin,  Gluck,  Washington,  Rousseau,  D'Alembert,  Buff  on, 
Gerbier,  Sacchini,  Barthelemy,  and  Mirabeau. 

The  revolution  was  inimical  to  the  arts.  Heads  were  taken 
off  by  a  more  summary  process  than  those  of  the  painter  or 
sculptor;  and  the  artist  who  had  been  favored  by  monarchs 
and  nobles,  became  the  object  of  suspicion  when  licentiousness 
had  supplanted  liberty,  and  was  preparing  the  way  for  re- 
newed despotism.  Houdon,  during  that  reaction  whose  cause 
was  the  insolence  of  tyranny  and  the  baseness  of  slavish 
submission  —  during  the  tumult  caused  by  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment falling  into  the  hands  of  those  who  had  been  rendered 
brutal  by  the  usurpation  of  kings  and  courtiers  —  during  the 
hurly-burly  of  revolutions  and  insurrections,  amused  himself 
by  finishing  a  statue  of  one  of  holy  mother  church's  saints, 


Copyright  by  Detroit  Publishing  Co. 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES 

1747-1792 
BY  JEAN  ANTOINE  HOUDOK 

From  the  collection  of  The  Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the  Fine  ArU 


HOUDON  IN  FRANCE  387 

which  had  been  long  negleeted  in  his  atelier.  The  old  regime 
of  despotic  church  and  despotic  State  government,  had  been 
too  closely  connected,  and  too  oppressive,  to  allow  of  separa- 
tion now  that  the  once  oppressed  were  the  masters.  The 
artist  was  denounced.  He  was  accused  of  devoting  his  talents 
to  the  cause  of  oppression.  No  distinction  could  be  allowed 
between  religion  and  the  hierarchy;  and  the  hierarchy  was  as 
odious  as  the  aristocracy  or  the  monarchy.  Happily  the 
pleader  who  defended  Houdon,  bethought  himself  of  turning 
the  statue  into  a  representative  of  Philosophy;  denied  its  holy 
character;  and  saved  the  head  of  the  artist  by  convincing  the 
judges  that  he  had  no  religion,  and  his  marble  saint  no  sanctity. 
The  statue  was  pronounced  to  be  Philosophy,  the  enemy  of 
priestcraft  and  tyranny;  and  Houdon  had  only  to  undergo 
the  fear  of  death  as  a  reward  for  his  industry  and  skill. 

A  new  generation  of  artists  sprung  up  with  the  new  genera- 
tion of  mushroom  kings,  princes,  dukes,  and  other  nobles; 
and  Houdon  was  found  too  old  to  contend  with  the  aspirants 
of  the  colossal  empire.  He  was  however  remembered;  but  it 
was  only  to  afford  him  an  honorable  retreat  in  his  old  age. 
He  was  employed  to  model  subjects  intended  for  the  colossal 
column  of  Boulogne-sur-mer,  and  his  work  was  never  applied 
as  designed. 

When  the  hideous  despotism  of  Bonaparte  was  overthrown 
by  a  combination  of  meaner  tyrants,  aided  by  injured  and  suf- 
fering humanity,  Houdon  had  withdrawn  from  public  life. 
He  had  played  his  part  on  the  stage,  and  had  retired  full  of 
years  and  honors.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
and  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Fine  Arts.  He  had  been  an  active 
professor,  and  assisted  still  at  the  sittings  of  the  Academy, 
without  taking  frequent  part  hi  debate  or  deliberation;  and 
terminated  a  long  and  honorable  career  at  the  age  of  eignty- 
eight,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1828. 

JAMES  PELLER  MALCOLM,  F.S.A. 

This  artist  made  his  first  efforts  as  a  painter  in  Philadelphia, 
about  the  year  1787-8.  We  shall  draw  our  information  re- 


388  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

specting  this  gentleman  principally  from  a  memoir,  written  by 
himself  in  1805.  His  grandfather,  Malcolm,  he  says  "went 
from  Scotland  to  St.  Christophers  or  St.  Kitts,  where  all  his 
numerous  family  became  extinct,  except  my  father,  a  merchant, 
who  died  in  Philadelphia  when  under  30  years  of  age,  and 
when  I  was  but  two  years  old." 

His  maternal  grandparents,  the  Fellers,  were  natives  of 
Bristol ;  "  whence  James  Peller,  his  great  grandfather,  went  in 
the  same  ship  with  William  Penn  to  the  banks  of  the  Dela- 
ware, and  there  hutted  with  him  and  other  adventurers  of  the 
voyage;  returned  with  him,  and  again  went  finally,  conveying 
his  family."  William  Penn  was  not  under  the  necessity  of 
hutting.  This  is  a  trifle  perhaps,  but  truth  is  not  to  be  trifled 
with. 

Mr.  Malcolm  says,  "The  house  in  which  Mr.  Peller  resided 
was  built  by  him  about  1689;  and  there  all  my  immediate 
relatives  of  this  branch  were  born;  nor  was  it  taken  down  till 
about  1793,  after  we  had  sold  it." 

James  Peller  Malcolm  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  in  the 
month  of  August  1767,  and  baptized  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  by 
the  Rev.  Jacob  Duche,  elsewhere  mentioned  by  me.  Young 
Malcolm  was  admitted  at  the  Quaker  school;  but  as  the 
enemies  of  his  country  approached  Philadelphia,  he  was  re- 
moved to  Pottstown,  and  there  received  his  education.  He 
returned  to  Philadelphia  in  1784.  "During  the  period  in  which 
I  received  my  education,"  he  says,  "I  felt  the  strongest  im- 
pulses to  drawing  and  painting;  and  employed  every  leisure 
moment  I  could  command  in  those  fascinating  pursuits.  Mr. 
Benbridge,  a  relation  and  a  brother  student  of  Mr.  West,  who 
had  spent  several  years  at  Rome,  flattered  me  with  his  appro- 
bation and  advised  an  immediate  voyage  to  Great  Britain." 

We  stop  to  say  that  we  do  not  think  Mr.  Benbridge  was 
related  to  Mr.  West;  that  he  was  not  a  "brother  student,"  is 
certain.  This  error  is  excusable  in  Mr.  Malcolm,  who  knew 
they  were  both  Pennsylvanians,  and  both  had  studied  in 
Rome. 

Mr.  Malcolm  visited  England  "immediately  after  he  was  of 


MALCOLM  GOES  TO  LONDON  389 

age."  Of  course  some  time  in  the  year  1788-9.  He  continues; 
"After  I  had  studied  at  the  Royal  Academy  three  years,  and 
received  many  hints  relating  to  the  art  from  the  late  Mr. 
Wright  of  Derby,  and  Mr.  West,  I  began  to  perceive  that  no 
encouragement  was  offered  to  the  liberal  branches  of  history 
and  landscape,  and  therefore  desisted  from  the  pursuit.  My 
subsequent  efforts  in  engraving  are  the  result  of  self-taught 
knowledge." 

I  have  expressed  my  opinion  of  the  words  self-taught. 
Here  is  a  gentleman  who  from  the  mature  age  of  21  or  22, 
studies  drawing  in  the  best  school  in  Europe  for  three  years  — 
mingles  with  artists,  and  sees  all  the  best  paintings  and  en- 
gravings, yet  when  he  commences  working  on  copper,  instead 
of  paper  and  canvas,  considers  his  knowledge  as  proceeding 
from  himself. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Mr.  Malcolm,  after  his  dis- 
appointment in  England,  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  that 
then  his  maternal  property,  the  Peller  House,  was  sold.  Alex- 
ander Lawson  says,  "There  was  a  young  lad  of  the  name  of 
Malcolm,  about  '92  or  '3,  who  drew  and  engraved  an  inside 
view  of  Christ  Church,  and  some  other  things  without  any 
instructions,  scratchy  and  poor,  but  indicating  talent.  He 
went  to  England,  where  he  became  an  architectural  draughts- 
man." See  how  the  word  scratchy  agrees  with  Malcolm's  taste 
as  to  engraving.  Speaking  of  his  works,  he  says,  "Which  I 
value  only  in  proportion  as  they  are  approved  by  the  admirer 
and  judge  of  nature,  rejecting  the  gloss  of  mere  lines  without  a 
particle  of  true  drawing."  The  works  of  Mr.  Malcolm,  as  we 
see  them  in  the  "  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  as  late  as  1815,  show 
this  want  of  attention  to  lines  and  are  scratchy. 

Mr.  Malcolm's  mother  accompanied  him  to  England,  and 
her  property  having  been  exhausted  for  his  education,  he,  by 
his  industry  as  a  writer  and  engraver,  maintained  her,  and  a 
wife  and  family,  until  he  sunk  "under  a  complication  of  dis- 
orders, originating  in  a  white  swelling  of  the  knee,  which  from 
its  first  attack  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  his  limb."  He  died  on 
the  5th  of  April,  1815. 


390  HISTORY  OF  THE  ARTS  OF  DESIGN 

I  believe  Mr.  Malcolm  was  a  better  man  than  artist.  He 
continued  his  literary  exertions  through  sickness  and  pain,  and 
on  completing  a  copious  index  for  Mr.  Nichols,  he  thus  ad- 
dressed him,  "The  Almighty  has  been  so  merciful  to  me,  as 
to  enable  me  to  complete  your  index;  and  thus  have  been  ful- 
filled your  benevolent  intentions  towards  me  and  my  family. 
Surely  never  was  an  index  completed  under  equal  continuance 
of  pain;  but  it  was  a  kind  of  refuge  and  solace  against  affliction; 
and  often  has  it  turned  aside  the  severest  pangs." 

Mr.  Malcolm  published  plates  to  illustrate  the  environs  of 
London,  the  designs  by  himself:  letters  between  literary  men 
illustrative  of  "  Granger's  Biographical  History  of  England," 
1808.  "  Excursions  in  Kent,  Gloucestershire,  etc.,  etc.,"  with 
24  plates,  1807.  Second  edition,  1813.  "  Londininium  redevi- 
vum,"  4  vols.  4to,  1802-7,  with  47  plates.  **  Anecdotes  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  London,  from  the  Roman  invasion 
to  the  eighteenth  century,  1808-11,"  with  forty-five  plates. 
"  Miscellaneous  anecdotes  illustrative  of  the  manners  and  his- 
tory of  Europe,  during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.,  James  II., 
William  III.  and  Queen  Anne,  1811,"  with  five  plates.  "His- 
tory of  the  Art  of  Caricaturing,  1813,"  with  31  plates,  4to. 
His  works  for  the  "  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  were  many,  and 
for  Nichol's  "  History  of  Leicestershire "  he  labored  as  a 
draughtsman  and  engraver  for  nearly  twenty  years.  He  like- 
wise designed  and  engraved  many  architectural  views  for 
various  individuals  and  societies.  Thus  he  labored  to  the  age 
of  forty-seven,  and  left  his  family  dependent  upon  the  charity 
of  the  British  public. 

JOHN  DIXEY. 

Mr.  Dixey,  an  artist  educated  in  London,  is  among  our 
earlier  sculptors  —  among  the  pioneers  who  have  aided  the 
progress  of  art,  and  by  their  efforts  contributed  to  exalt  our 
national  character. 

John  Dixey  was  born  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  but  left  the 
metropolis  of  Ireland  at  an  early  age  for  London.  He  was  a 
student  of  the  Royal  Academy,  and  both  his  assiduity  and 


ARCHITECTURAL  ORNAMENT  391 

talent  must  have  been  apparent,  as  I  am  informed  that  his 
name  was  on  the  list  of  those  who  were  selected  from  the 
students  to  be  sent  to  Italy  for  finishing  their  education.  But 
other  prospects  opening  to  him,  he  left  England  for  America, 
and  arrived  in  1789. 

My  informant  says,  "He  was  elected  vice-president  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  1810  or  12,"  from 
which  we  know  that  he  was  at  that  time  a  resident  of  that  city, 
although  he  lived  many  years  in  New  York;  he  continues, 
"and  exhibited,  I  think,  on  that  occasion,  a  model  in  bas-relief 
of  Hercules  chaining  the  Hydra." 

The  models  he  executed  were  the  fruits  of  his  leisure  hours, 
made  at  such  intervals  as  he  could  spare  from  the  pur- 
suits which  the  state  of  the  arts  in  this  country,  at  that  time, 
compelled  him  to  resort  to.  He  wished  to  revive  the  too  much 
neglected  art  of  sculpture,  and  his  models  were  generally  done 
at  a  considerable  pecuniary  sacrifice.  His  death  occurred  in 
1820.  Besides  Hercules  and  the  Hydra,  Mr.  Dixey  executed 
in  1818,  a  model  of  Ganymede,  and  the  next  year  he  carved  in 
wood  the  Adoration  of  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East.  The  cherub's 
head  in  marble,  on  the  Hamilton  monument,  is  from  his 
chisel,  and  the  figures  of  Justice  on  the  city  hall  of  New  York, 
and  the  State  House  at  Albany  are  his  design  and  execution. 

The  talents  and  acquirements  of  Mr.  Dixey,  for  many  years 
previous  to  his  death,  were  principally  directed  to  the  orna- 
mental and  decorative  embellishment  of  public  and  private 
edifices.  In  the  graceful  and  almost  endless  variety  in  which 
flowers  are  susceptible  of  being  grouped,  intermingled  with 
the  fanciful  heads  of  men  and  animals,  his  chisel  ever  displayed 
both  taste  and  ability. 

Mr.  Dixey  married  in  America  and  left  two  sons,  who,  as 
American  artists,  will  be  hereafter  mentioned. 


END   OP  VOLUME  ONE. 


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